What You Need to Know About Online Bullying & Cyber Insurance

Cyber attacks and online bullying is a growing concern that has escalated in recent years. Vodafone conducted a survey[1] which found that one in five teenagers has been victimised. Unfortunately, legal intervention can be extremely expensive. To address the emotional and financial implications of online bullying and other types of cyber attacks, First for Women launched Cyber Insurance, which includes online or cyberbullying coverage, among its many benefits. 

What is cyberbullying?

Online or cyberbullying uses technology, often social media platforms, to harass, humiliate or threaten someone. This can take many forms, like hurtful comments, posting images or making threats. Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying can be done anonymously, which makes it difficult to stop. The consequences of this abuse are very serious, especially for children and teenagers. Consistent bullying has been linked to poor mental health issues, like low self-esteem, depression and even suicidal thoughts and behaviour. This is the reason why parents and caregivers need to be aware of the impact so they can take measures to address the bullying and prevent future attacks. 

Types of cyberbullying

First things first, you need to understand the different types of cyberbullying. Some of the most common forms of abuse include:  

1. Online harassment. This is an ongoing, consistent, intentional form of cyberbullying where the cyberbully sends abusive, threatening, and malicious messages. Similar to harassment is flaming. This involves posting insults on social media, which are often filled with offensive language and profanity. Insults may turn into ‘flame wars’ where two or more people join forces to attack the victim.

2. Exclusion. The act of deliberately leaving someone out. This can occur in various ways, on and offline, including:

• Exclusion from online groups like chats and social sites.

• Exclusion from mentions in online conversations – for example, tagging other friends and deliberately excluding someone.

• Exclusion from friends’ parties or activities.

• Exclusion from conversations because he/she isn’t on social media or doesn’t have a smartphone.

• It also often involves leaving malicious comments on a person’s social media pages.

3. Hacking. This is an act aimed at ruining your reputation by impersonating them online. The cyberbully will gain access to your social media login details, log in to your accounts, and post defamatory and inappropriate content on your social pages.

4. Masquerading. This is when a cyberbully creates a false identity to harass someone online anonymously. He/she may pose as someone else and send malicious messages to his/her victim.  

5. Catfishing. The use of a fake online profile with the intent to lure people into a relationship, often romantic, through a process of deception. The cyberbully may or may not be someone the victim knows, but either way, they intend to gain their victim’s trust and get them to share personal information, which they then share online to humiliate and embarrass that person. Teenagers are especially susceptible to catfishing as they may often ‘befriend’ people even if they don’t know them and tend to overshare their emotions and details of their lives online.

6. Outing. The aim of outing is to publicly humiliate a person by sharing private, sensitive or embarrassing content without their consent. Once the content has been spread around online, the victim has been ‘outed’.

7. Defamation. This is when the cyberbully sends or posts cruel comments online, which can affect someone’s self-confidence and damage their reputation.

8. Trickery. Trickster cyberbullies will falsely befriend you and gain your trust, getting you to share embarrassing details and secrets and then share this information online or send it to other people.

9. Sexting. This refers to the exchange of sexually explicit photos, videos or messages, usually via messaging apps on cell phones. Sexting is not only illegal but can have severe, far-reaching effects. If a cyberbully shares this content online, this could cause serious embarrassment. 

10. Revenge porn. The act of distributing or sharing sexually explicit photos or videos of a person without his/her consent online. Revenge porn is typically shared by a past sexual partner who aims to publically humiliate the victim.

11. Cyberstalking. An extremely dangerous form of harassment that can lead to physical harassment in the real world.

What can you do about cyberbullying?

Preparation is as important as education when it comes to cyberbullying. In many cyberbullying cases, decisive legal action must be taken to stop the abuse and bring the perpetrators to justice because this process's emotional and financial implications can be devastating.

Other ways you can stop cyberbullying include:

• Block the bully. Use the blocking system on the social media platform to prevent them from sending any harmful messages.

• Report the abuse. Many social media platforms have a mechanism in place to address abuse and bullying. This way, the bully can be stopped by being blocked or banned from the platform altogether.

• Keep evidence. Don’t be tempted to delete abusive messages or images. Keep a record of it in case you need to lodge a formal complaint with the authorities or take legal action.

What is cyber insurance? 

Cyber security insurance provides protection against losses and damages from cyber incidents, like data breaches, hacking attacks, and other types of cybercrime. This type of insurance applies to business and personal use. So, if you’re wondering, ‘do I need cyber insurance,’ the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’

This is due to the fact that the frequency and severity of cyber incidents have increased exponentially. We have also become an online culture with most work operations, along with entertainment, banking and shopping, all being conducted online. Many businesses, organisations, and people in their private capacities have opted to protect themselves with cyber insurance. 

What does a cyber insurance policy cover?

The cover will include expenses for legal fees, as well as the costs incurred from restoring or replacing lost or stolen data. It includes cover for first-party data loss, data restoration costs, business interruption and third-party losses. Some policies will include cover for reputational damage following a cyber attack event. 

Get cyber insurance and protect your loved ones

First for Women offers cyber insurance that covers cyberbullying. This includes unlimited legal advice, mediation, and R55,000 litigation benefits. Get a quote online and keep yourself and your family safe from the growing threat of online bullying and cyber attacks. 

Sources:

[1] Vodafone: Groundbreaking Vodafone global survey results on teen cyberbullying

Disclaimer: The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or medical advice.