The fourth season of You has just arrived on Netflix, extending the adventures of Joe Goldberg, whose excesses do not prevent fans of the series from getting attached to it. Some, however, are concerned about the romanticization of online or offline bullying that the program highlights.
It is often said that from fiction to reality, there is only one step, and this is undoubtedly what worries cyber experts. The first part of season 4 of You has just been put online by Netflix, with the long-awaited return by fans of a Joe Goldberg still as obsessed with the lives of the women he desires. The series, a real phenomenon, raises certain questions among computer security experts who are worried about a possible trivialization, through fiction, of harassment and cyberbullying.
The phenomenon of “stalkerware”, the spyware used in abusive relationships
In the sad current of online harassment, there is what is called “stalkerware”, materialized by software that can be purchased and then installed on the smartphone of a person you wish to spy on, and this, therefore, in the greater discretion. Kaspersky, which already alerted us in 2020 to the risks of domestic violence caused by stalkerware, seized the opportunity of the enthusiasm observed around the series You to alert potential victims.
Kaspersky tells us that in 2022, no less than 29,312 people were victims of stalkerware worldwide. In France, they would be 365, with data which are in reality much more important. ” Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the iceberg, as we only have information from users of Kaspersky mobile security solutions. “reminds the firm honestly.
France is one of the three countries most affected in Europe by this practice of spyware. The Coalition Against Stalkerware, founded in 2019 by professionals Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, NortonLifeLock, Avira and certain organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (which has around forty members today), considers that the use of this type of software could close to one million cases per year.
Don’t underestimate the power of fiction
In the series You, where stalkerware is part of the arsenal of the intrusive individual embodied by the American actor Penn Badgley, harassing behavior is part of the very character of Joe Goldberg, which Kaspersky denounces. ” It is important not to romanticize behaviors such as those reproduced in “You.” They must be denounced for what they are: harassment. “Reacted Arnaud Decoux, head of public affairs at Kaspersky France.
” The figures conceal true stories, which have a lasting effect on the people who are victims of them. This is why it is important to take active measures against this phenomenon. “, he adds.
The vice-president of Una Casa Per L’Uomo, an Italian association for the aid of victims, denounces through the series ” consequences that have concrete impacts in the real life of those who suffer (cyberbullying)with medium and long-term psychological, physical and social effects that we see daily in our anti-violence centers “. Caution is therefore required, and it is always better to protect access to your smartphone and not to share any unlocking codes and procedures with anyone, to limit the risks.
Source : Kaspersky
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