sextortion

Sexting can affect your company. Although it seems like there is little relevance between two people sharing intimate pictures and the workplace, in fact it can trigger a real business crisis.

Everything due to the so-called sextortion. Someone with whom we have shared intimate pictures blackmails you to obtain more pictures, money, sex or even, confidential information. All in exchange for not making the pictures public and ruining the victim’s reputation.

There are many ways sextortion can affect a company. The personal impact on the worker who is being blackmailed can impact on the company’s brand, but not only that, the extortionist can ask the victim for confidential information on the company he works for in exchange for not publishing the images, so the company may also be at risk.

Sextortion in four stages

As the expert in online reputation, Selva Orejon explains, Sextortion comes in four stages in which anyone can fall into the blackmailer’s trap, so stay vigilant.

  1. The cybercriminal looks for his target, analyzing who will be able to cope financially with the extortion or, just looking for the right profile. According to OrejĂłn, they target people with low self-esteem that search the internet looking for a relationship and have a false sense of security and intimacy.
  2. The cybercriminal adjust himself to what his victim wants. Orejón says that the blackmailer’s main objective is becoming the perfect chameleon and ending up being the kind of person that their target is interested in.
  3. The blackmailer gains his victim trust to such extent that the victim sends him intimate pictures or videos with sexual content.
  4. Finally the cybercriminal carries out the extortion, asking the victim to give him something in return if he doesn’t want the pictures to go public. Something that obviously will ruin the victim’s reputation at home or at work.

Where does Sextortion happen?

You can fall victim of sextortion in any social network or chat. However, there are some networks were victims are more accessible and others in which the threat to the business world is more real.

Cybercriminals find sites like Badoo and other online dating platforms their perfect fishing ground. After all, these users are looking for someone to start a relationship with, so they are more open to make contact with strangers.

LinkedIn is where a case of sextortion can ruin our professional reputation. In order to get a quicker reaction from their victims, cybercriminals change from personal to professional blackmail. The criminal chooses his victim form the professional social network and then threatens to expose him to his contacts if he doesn’t give him what he wants.

Any kind of sextortion can jeopardize a company’s image, since the security and reputation of one of its employees is on the line. And, if the cybercriminal asks for business information as ransom, the company can face serious problems.

That’s way it’s important to advise your employees of the risks associated with sexting and the importance of taking all the necessary precautions when sharing pictures, especially if they are delicate.