Doxing
Doxing is the process of finding personal information about a person, group, organization, or corporation for the purpose of publishing it online. The result of doxing is called a dox.[1] Doxing is usually done with the intent to harm someone, often as revenge. It is frequently an attempt to humiliate, expose, and/or punish an individual. Doxing is illegal in many countries.[1][2]
History
Doxing dates back to the 1980s and 1990s. Black-hat hackers and penetration testers of the time used it to silence and/or intimate their hacker rivals in the Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and Internet communities.[2]
Effects
Doxing is a form of vigilantism. There have been many instances where people who were doxed experienced years of harassment, were victims of swatting, had to change their phone numbers, and/or had to move out of their homes. At present, specifically in the United States, doxing is used as a method of political attack. Being doxed makes a person more vulnerable to identity theft.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
- S-W, C. (10 March 2014). What doxxing is, and why it matters. https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/03/economist-explains-9. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- Schneier, Bruce. The Security of Our Election Systems. Schneier on Security (29 July 2016). Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- Levin, Sam (16 August 2018). "Anti-fascists say police post mugshots on Twitter to 'intimidate and silence'". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/16/anti-fascist-protesters-antifa-police-doxing-twitter-mugshots. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2
- Douglas, David M.. Ethics and Information Technology 18 (June 28, 2016). p. 199–210. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
- Lee, Carmen. Doxxing as discursive action in a social movement. Critical Discourse Studies 19 (3) (December 7, 2020). p. 326‒344. doi:10.1080/17405904.2020.1852093. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
- Anderson, Briony. Harm imbrication and virtualised violence: Reconceptualising the harms of doxxing. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 11 (1) (March 1, 2022)Queensland University of Technology. Crime and Justice Research Centre. p. 196‒209. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
