Threat Modeling Intimate Partner Violence: Tech Abuse as a Cybersecurity Challenge in the Internet of Things [chapter]

Julia Slupska, Leonie Maria Tanczer
2021 The Emerald International Handbook of Technology Facilitated Violence and Abuse  
Technology-Facilitated abuse, so-called "tech abuse," through phones, trackers, and other emerging innovations, has a substantial impact on the nature of intimate partner violence (IPV). The current chapter examines the risks and harms posed to IPV victims/survivors from the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) environment. IoT systems are understood as "smart" devices such as conventional household appliances that are connected to the internet. Interdependencies between different products
more » ... er with the devices' enhanced functionalities offer opportunities for coercion and control. Across the chapter, we use the example of IoT to showcase how and why tech abuse is a socio-technological issue and requires not only human-centered (i.e., societal) but also cybersecurity (i.e., technical) responses. We apply the method of "threat modeling," which is a process used to investigate potential cybersecurity attacks, to shift the conventional technical focus from the risks to systems toward risks to people. Through the analysis of a smart lock, we highlight insufficiently designed IoT privacy and security features and uncover how seemingly neutral design decisions can constrain, shape, and facilitate coercive and controlling behaviors. Keywords: Tech abuse; intimate partner violence; domestic violence; cybersecurity; threat modeling; internet of things "I changed the lock on my front door so you can't see me anymore. And you can't come inside my house, and you can't lie down on my couch.
doi:10.1108/978-1-83982-848-520211049 fatcat:hfwl5pj6s5cpnmezhrfqsc5eiu