Doxing, The Danger Of Revealing Your Personal Data

Doxing  is a term that comes from the English word  documents. To compose the term, we take the abbreviation for doc  (dox) and add the suffix  -ing.

Currently, in the Internet age, there is not a person who does not have a Facebook account, a company that does not have a website, someone who does not shop online… Technology and information technology have made our lives much easier. However, with the new facilities came new problems, dangers and threats. Unfortunately, despite the good use we can put things, there will always be the other side of the coin.  A dark side that certain people will take advantage of.

How does doxing work  ?

The  doxing  consists mainly in creating a complete profile of a particular person or company by compiling personal information. We can think:  this information is already public on our social media profiles, so what?

Yes, but this profile created by  doxing  contains much more personal information that is not public on the web but, however, was obtained through different data connections that, yes, are freely available. In fact, there are references of ours that, although we believe they are “hidden”, in reality are easily accessible.

The Doxing  is simply to use the Internet to seek information about a particular person.  The danger of this method is that it starts with a simple name, a “ username ”, age, phone number, email, photos, etc. Basic personal information that constitutes the beginning of this type of investigation. In other words,  doxing is  not based only on compiling information that is already public, but on using it to obtain more personal data.

This practice, in itself, is not a crime. After all, we’re only compiling information from one subject. However,  what will constitute a crime is the purpose for which we use that information or the method by which we obtain it.

• The first case will be defined by the  clear intention to harm the victim. Use this information to defraud you, substitute your identity, harass you, threaten you, etc.
• In the second case we refer to the  use of computer tricks  (in which a deeper knowledge is required)  to obtain the information. For example, having the person download a document that contains hidden malware  (malicious document)  to obtain bank account numbers, medical information, etc.

Some doxing instruments 

• Google and other search engines like Yahoo, Bing, etc. they are tools available to everyone that allow you to quickly and easily obtain published photos of the person, the social places they appear, phone numbers, email account ID, etc.

• Social networks. Facebook is the most used, along with LinkedIn, as they are where we put the most information about our lives. When using these accounts, sometimes for professional purposes, we are required to post true information that exposes us to these types of attacks.
• “Whois search”. Used to obtain information from the owner of the domain or an IP address.

What effects can doxing have?

The harm that the victim can suffer from  doxing  can be material as well as personal. This will depend on the purpose for which the information was obtained, although there is always an intertwining of effects.

On a personal level, the most important harm is the feeling of lack of security generated. Obtaining the address where the person lives is a clear demonstration that “we are not even safe at home”. Thus, all of this can trigger a crisis of anxiety and moral damage, as this information is sometimes used to humiliate, embarrass and harass the victim. Fear, by the way, is another effect.

On a material level, being doxed can lead to the loss of bank accounts or passwords that give access to sensitive personal information.  All of this is related to the possible loss of money, having to start a new company again, change address, etc.

Likewise, the consequences of  doxing  do not only affect the victim himself. Your family and close friends may be affected. Let’s think that, when so much data about a person is exposed, the environment close to that person is also exposed. In this way, a kind of snowball that is very difficult to stop is created.

Is it possible to prevent?

Once we are on the Internet, it is very difficult, practically impossible, to leave this world and go back to being “anonymous”. The only thing that remains for us is to follow a series of guidelines that make it difficult to obtain this information.

The main thing is to try to reduce and minimize the amount of information we publish on our social profiles. Sometimes this is unavoidable: in this case, we must tighten security.

• Keep certain information private, such as photos, email, phone number on social media. Do not allow free access to this type of data and, if it is not completely necessary, do not even place it.
• Use strong passwords. Matching numbers, uppercase, lowercase, etc., although it’s not foolproof for hackers. There are currently programs that break these security barriers, but even so, a strong password will make access difficult. Likewise, one should not use the same password across multiple sites and pages.

• Avoid as much as possible indicating in our publications the exact place where we are in real time.
• Use different email accounts for each case : work, social networks, personal email, bank accounts, etc.

For example…

In Brussels (Belgium) a tent was installed where the service of reading the minds of volunteers was offered. Some accepted and the soothsayer left them totally impressed. He knew all kinds of information about them, information that they hadn’t even passed on to the people around them. How did you know?

Once the information is posted on the Internet, a person’s record already exists. Even if we don’t have any kind of social profile, companies and governments work through the network, storing customer data (medical records, account movements, addresses, purchases they make, etc.). This is inevitable, but  if we pay attention to the warnings and are careful with everything we publish, we can at least minimize the possibility  of being, at some point, victims of this kind of malicious practice.

references

• Schreibman, E. (2015). 
• Anddress, J. (2013). Doxing and anti-doxing information reconnaissance for the stalker and the stalked