As our society becomes increasingly intertwined with the exponentially growing influence of the internet and technology, the amount of online criminal activity such as cyberbullying and cyberstalking also grows. Technology proves time and time again to be a double-edged sword. Although social media makes it easier than ever to stay connected to the ones you love, it also provides a platform for people with more insidious intentions to cause harm in the form of cyberstalking. This is happening at an alarming rate and the case that I will be examining is one that hits close to home.

        The article that I will be examining was posted by a local news website back in March of this year. It explains how a Tampa Bay woman claims to be the victim of online harassments for the past three years. Bonnie Etemad states that it all started when the suspect commented on one of her Twitter posts. The cyberstalking began after Etemad rejected the suspect’s romantic advancements. This led to the suspect hacking her Twitter account and changing her passwords on multiple devices, even gaining access to phone calls made to her phone. Over the course of three years, Etemad says that the suspect disabled a total of seven phones. Eteman went to local police authorities as well as California authorities, where the suspect seemed to live, but to no avail. This is in part because civil laws on cybercrimes or not updated as much as they are at the federal and state level. It seems that there are just too many of these cases for authorities to try and prosecute all of them. The current tactic at the moment is to prosecute and convict some of the more prolific cases in hopes at sending a message to those that conduct these types of crimes. However, it is clear that this is not enough as the threat just seems to keep increasing while the resources of the law enforcement agencies continue to be limited. Unfortunately, the reality is that this case, as well as the majority of other cases, will likely stay open until more incidents are reported on this stalker in which case the FBI would then get involved.

        The sheer number of these cases is staggering and only growing. Until civil law enforcement and local authorities find an efficient way to track down and prosecute these cybercriminals, the best course of action to protect yourself is up to the individual. This may seem harsh but it is the reality of the situation and can be quite effective if implemented properly. The article outlines some tips to increase personal online security that they sourced from the website “Enigma Soft.” These tips include: limiting the amount of personal information you post online, using software to detect and remove programs that could be stealing your data, changing your passwords often, and using a browsers with encryption capabilities while updating them often. These practices should not only be adopted by victims of cybercrime, but by everyone as a preventative measure. If I could create a law to help prevent cybercrime, it would be that all civil cases regarding cyberstalking or cyberbullying that have been ongoing for more than a year should reach the federal level and be investigated by the FBI. The reason for the one year requirement would be to save law enforcement resources for only the cases that are severe enough and causing long-term harm and trauma to the victims, such as the case of Bonnie Etemad.