The Analysis of the Socio-Technical Environment (STE) of Online Sextortion Using Case Studies and Published Reports from a Cybersecurity Perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the Socio-Technical Environment (STE) of online Sextortion in the Digital Society. Sextortion refers to: “the broad category of sexual exploitation in which abuse of power is the means of coercion, as well as to the category of sexual exploitation in which threatened release of sexual images or information is the means of coercion”. STE can be defined as he complex interrelationships between people, information, processes and technology and online networks. It addresses issues that are central to the domains of online sextortion and the interactivities between tasks, information and social. The methods chosen for this research project to address the sextortion problems and online presence have been identified in the research and developed here to address the STE of online sextortion from a cybersecurity perspective using Checklands Soft System Methodology (SSM) and a modified version of the Event Analysis of Systemic Team-work (EAST) model to illustrate it. The results of this project discuss the impact of sextortion on our socio-technical environment, and then how and where, law enforcement, governments, NGOs and technology companies are tackling these online threats. This paper further investigates they could take to prevent online sextortion from happening, protecting potential victims and better risk managing this environment. The research suggests that any cybersecurity measures taken, need to be considered in a holistic light. To prevent online sextortion because through the STE shows that the platforms, services and wide-ranging geographic nature of the groups and individuals of the victims and perpetrators because no single measure could mitigate all the vulnerabilities that lead to the proliferation of sextortion.