The Media and Government Communication Division, in cooperation with the Rehabilitation and Employment Unit at the College of Science for Girls at the University of Baghdad, organized an awareness seminar entitled (Electronic Extortion) presented by a group of employees of the Community Police Directorate in the Ministry of Interior, Colonel Walid Sharaf, Lieutenant Colonel Basma Miz’al and others.
The seminar aimed to introduce the participants to the concept of electronic blackmail, which is one of the most prominent challenges facing societies in the modern era, especially with the widespread spread of the Internet and social media, and the symposium dealt with several important aspects on this topic, as it provided a detailed explanation about electronic blackmail, which includes threatening the person to publish sensitive images or information that harm the reputation of the individual, and the types of electronic blackmail were reviewed, such as individual blackmail, financial extortion, and social blackmail, which depends on threatening the person to reveal personal life secrets.
The workshop also suggested several practical solutions, such as protecting privacy online, avoiding sharing personal information and photos with strangers, using strong passwords, and activating the two-factor authentication feature, in addition to being wary of suspicious links and fraudulent emails.
It stressed the importance of using the available legal procedures in the event of extortion, how to report cybercrimes to the competent authorities, and cooperating with the security authorities to maintain personal security.
At the end of the seminar, the door was opened for dialogue and answering students’ questions, which helped raise their awareness about the dangers of electronic extortion and ways to prevent it, as well as promoting a culture of electronic security.
This workshop achieves one of the sustainable development goals represented by the fourth and ninth goals, which call for quality education as well as industry, innovation, and infrastructure.