When “Safety Tech” Becomes a Weapon: The Perpetrator’s Firewall

By Johanna de La Rosiere

In Australia, research shows that technology-facilitated abuse (TFA) is widespread. A national survey revealed that half of Australians have experienced some form of tech-based abuse, with particularly high rates among Indigenous communities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals.

Perpetrators build what looks like a firewall: hidden cameras, manipulated smart-home devices, cloned accounts, AirTags in cars, even hijacked pet feeders. These aren’t random hacks; they are carefully constructed systems of control. The victim lives behind this digital wall, constantly watched, constantly limited.

And while the victim is advised to reset passwords, switch off location services, and fill out endless forms, the perpetrator simply sits back and watches the stress unfold gaining exactly the thrill they were after.

Endless Loops for Victims

Victims are pushed into reactive measures:

• Disable location services → lose the ability to navigate safely or track children.
• Change numbers and emails → cut off from loved ones, services, and work.
• Reset passwords repeatedly → risk of losing access to banking, health, or professional portals.
• Report abuse to multiple agencies → explain the story again and again, often with no clear response.

The system unintentionally isolates victims further. Technology that should empower them shrinks their world.

Where Are the White Hats?

In cyber-security, “white-hat hackers” test systems, find vulnerabilities, and fix them before the bad actors break in.

But in domestic abuse? There are no white hats.

• No proactive audits to check whether a victim’s home has been infiltrated by hidden cameras or trackers.
• No mandated safety scans of devices when coercive control is reported.
• No coordinated teams of ethical technologists empowered to dismantle the digital cages built by abusers.

Instead, we rely on victims to fight a battle they cannot see while perpetrators run their own private “red team operations” unchecked.

The Australian Gap

Reports from the Australian Institute of Criminology and ANROWS show that frontline workers often lack training in recognising technology-facilitated abuse. Victims may never be offered a tech safety check. Agencies remain siloed: cybercrime units pursue fraud, while domestic violence units handle threats leaving digital coercion in a legal grey zone.

Even as states like NSW, QLD, and SA criminalise coercive control, technology remains under-acknowledged. The law moves slowly; the abusers move fast.

A Call for Ethical Tech Vigilance

If technology can be weaponised to cage a victim, it can also be redesigned to defend them. Australia urgently needs:

• Mandated tech safety audits for at-risk households.
• Cross-agency task forces linking cybercrime experts with domestic violence services.
• Training and resources so frontline workers recognise tech-facilitated coercion.
• Legal frameworks that explicitly criminalise digital forms of coercive control.
• Innovation funding for “safety tech” solutions designed with survivors, not just for them.