Rise in ‘cyber-flashing’ prompts police warning
The digital revolution has already given us trolls, hackers and revenge porn but now a new insidious use of mobile technology has risen to the fore with the rise of so-called ‘cyber-flashing’.
A spotlight has been thrust on the phenomenon following the case of a London commuter who was sent indecent images of a man’s penis on her phone by an unidentified fellow passenger via Apple’s Airdrop service whilst on her way to work.
Speaking to the BBC Lorraine Crighton-Smith said receipt of the graphic pictures had left her feeling ‘violated’, adding: “I had Airdrop switched on because I had been using it previously to send photos to another iPhone user - and a picture appeared on the screen of a man's penis, which I was quite shocked by.
“So, I declined the image, instinctively, and another image appeared, at which [point] I realised someone nearby must be sending them, and that concerned me. I felt violated, it was a very unpleasant thing to have forced upon my screen.”
Offering advice to others who might be similarly targeted Supt Gill Murray of the British Transport Police said: "We have a dedicated Cyber Crime Unit who can analyse mobile phones and track data transfers back to suspects' devices. By linking this to physical evidence, such as CCTV footage or witness statements, we can catch offenders and bring them to justice through the courts."
Airdrop’s default setting is ‘contacts only’ meaning only known individuals can share data but this can be manually deactivated by the user to allow anyone to connect.