Partnering for Security

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This past Fall, Safety Net partnered with NortonLifeLock to host two webinars on Privacy and Security Tools for Survivors. The first webinar looked at tools including two-factor authentication, password managers, and social media account settings. The second webinar took a deeper dive into security and privacy planning when survivor are relocating.

“We discussed strategies for common scenarios,” says NortonLifeLock’s Paige Hanson, who presented on the webinars, “like relocating with existing devices and accounts and keeping physical locations confidential, keeping the devices and accounts themselves private and inaccessible, and setting up new devices and accounts.”

It is so important for everyone to learn more about how to increase privacy and security with devices and accounts, and these webinars helped attendees with the basics. One attendee wrote, “I appreciate all the resources and tips that were provided. Cyber Security is not something I'm a subject matter expert on, so I want to know as much as I can when helping develop a safety plan with a survivor- and these things are very important!”

If you haven’t updated your account or device security in a bit, here are a few quick tips:

  • Change the passwords for your apps and accounts. Use different passwords for accounts that contain sensitive or personally identifying information.

  • Set up additional security such as two-factor authentication.

  • Add a screen lock. This could be a passcode, pattern, or your fingerprint, for example.

  • Use an anti-virus security app.

  • Check your privacy & security settings. Look for privacy and security checkup tools for each platform that can guide you through the changes you can make. 

  • Ask friends and family to get your permission before they share anything about you.

NNEDV is grateful for NortonLifeLock’s support and their commitment to increasing security for survivors. On Norton’s blog, they wrote, “through our partnership on the Safety Net Program, we’re addressing the intersection between technology and safety helping to create safer spaces for victims and potential victims and end technology abuse.” We look forward to continuing to build capacity around privacy and security planning for those who work to support survivors.

If you missed the webinars, you can watch the recordings:

Tools for Online Privacy and Security

Device and Account Security in Safety Planning for Relocation

Tech Abuse in the Pandemic & Beyond: Reflections from the Field, 2021

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Tech abuse is a widespread problem seen by advocates and legal systems professionals across the US. Our new report, “Tech Abuse in the Pandemic and Beyond,” shares findings from a needs assessment that included the participation of over 1,000 advocates and legal systems professionals. They told us that tech abuse increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survivors and their communities also encountered additional barriers to safety, justice, and healing. Read the Full Report or the Executive Summary.

Key Findings:

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  • The most common types of tech abuse - harassment, limiting access to technology, and surveillance - increased during the pandemic.

  • Phones, social media, and messaging were the technologies most commonly misused as a tactic of tech abuse.

  • Internet of Things (IoT) devices, next generation location trackers, and other emerging technologies are increasingly misused in tech abuse.

  • Survivors’ lack of access to technology, sometimes called the “Digital Divide,” is a barrier to accessing services, legal support, courts, and other services and social supports.

Takeaways:

  • We should be prepared for the likelihood that tech abuse tactics adopted during the pandemic will not be given up easily.

  • We should work together to promote digital equity and tech safety.

Technology can amplify abuse but is also used strategically by survivors and those who support them.[1] Moving forward, we should bring this knowledge even more deeply into our work to respond to and prevent violence and abuse while supporting the well-being of providers.

Download the Executive Summary.

Download the Full Report.

Thank you to the dedicated advocates and legal systems professionals who took the time to complete our survey in December 2020 to January 2021. Related research on victim services throughout the pandemic highlights what we have always known: that advocates and service providers are resilient and dedicated. They shifted to new ways of using technology to communicate with survivors and each other while coping with profound personal, professional, and pre-existing societal challenges and inequities. However, there is a cost to excessive flexibility and creativity in burnout, vicarious trauma, and exhaustion.[2] We’re grateful for your responses and your work every day alongside survivors to increase safety, privacy, and healing.


This project was supported by cooperative agreement number 2019-V3-GX-K017, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.


[1] Freed, et al. (2017); Matthews et al. (2017); Dragiewicz, et al. (2018); Richard & Gray (2018); Douglas, Harris, & Dragiewicz (2019); Harris & Woodlock (2019); Messing, et al. (2020); Leitão (2021)

[2] Wood, et al. (2020)

Increasing Awareness of Tech Abuse and the Importance of Privacy

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Safety Net recently participated in some efforts to raise awareness about the complexities of technology abuse and the importance of privacy for survivors. In a podcast for Coda Currents, Erica Olsen shared examples of how technology is often misused as a tactic of abuse.

Toby Shulruff also talked with Consumer Reports about devices and privacy settings. The resulting article includes some helpful pointers for survivors who are looking to minimize privacy and safety risks with their tech. It also breaks down several steps to increase privacy and minimize the possibility of abuse, including:

  • email accounts

  • social media accounts

  • ride-hailing apps (Uber, Lyft)

  • streaming media (Netflix, Uber)

  • bank and credit card sites, cable, phone, and utility companies,

  • and computer and mobile device passwords.

For additional information read the full article, How to Shut Stalkers Out of Your Tech, and share with anyone who may be concerned about their privacy. In addition, for a deeper dive into maintaining control over your information, check out their Security Planner Tool that they revised last year with Safety Net’s input.