Employee Resources for Online Attacks

UW–Madison employees may find themselves increasingly the subject of unwanted attention online as incidents of trolling and doxxing become more common.

Sometimes these situations stem directly from faculty or staff scholarship or research; others may follow employees to work from their personal lives. These attacks can be disruptive and, in some cases, even frightening. However, while trolling and doxxing can feel intense and all-encompassing, most attacks do not involve direct safety risks and perpetrators often quickly move on. Responding promptly using the strategies and resources below can help minimize the impact.

The university strives to ensure its employees have a safe and productive workplace. While the university cannot prevent these kinds of incidents from occurring, what follows is a host of resources to support anyone who finds themselves the targets of such attacks.

Follow the steps below if you or a colleague find yourself in this situation.

Step 1: Assess your safety

Call 9-1-1 immediately if you or your family are in imminent physical danger or receive specific threats.

• If on or near campus and not in immediate danger but you feel unsafe, call UWPD (Non-Emergency): 608-264-2677 for safety planning, threat assessment, and next steps.
• Contact your supervisor (chair, director, manager) or HR rep to assist with appropriate next steps.

Step 2: Address the attacks

Take steps to address attacks that do not directly threaten your safety.

• Contact the Public Affairs Team in the Office of Strategic Communication to assist with appropriate next steps.
• Do not engage online: Responding to or posting about harassing messages tends to prolong and escalate attention. Often, limiting your online time and online exposure is the best response.

Step 3: Limit your and your unit’s exposure

• If you are being contacted through UW channels, such as phone or email, the Office of Strategic Communication can assist with temporarily removing your contact information and profile from the online directory, along with your contact information from university webpages. This makes it more difficult to find out how to target you.
• Aside from the directory removal mentioned above, student employees, including graduate students, can control their viewable information listed in the UW public directory. Follow DoIT instructions to update your FERPA privacy settings to have the data suppressed.
• If you are already receiving unwanted email, consider setting up an email filter that diverts email from people you don’t know to a folder that you or a colleague can review later.
• If your department or unit has an email address, phone number, social media presence, and/or mailing address that are publicly advertised, department leaders should ensure that the staff who handle these are aware of the situation and know how to respond to any inappropriate or harassing messages.
• The Office of Strategic Communication can also provide guidance on social media management. Limit online exposure by taking proactive steps before an incident, including:
  • Locking or hiding visible social profiles
  • Ensuring that identifying photos or details of family members are not visible
• To deescalate a situation once it’s started, the Office of Strategic Communication suggests:
  • Refraining from posting about the situation or any other issue
  • Not responding to messages or comments

Step 4: Consider longer term responses

• Consider your health and well-being. UW–Madison’s Employee Assistance Office can assist employees experiencing any personal or professional issues, including doxxing or trolling, and are available for consultation. Employees who are students can access mental health support through UHS services. Graduate students can utilize either resource.
• Contact unit leadership or human resources. For concerns about how a situation may impact your work or teaching, contact department chairs and contacts in the local dean’s office, or divisional human resources. They can coordinate with the Office of Strategic Communication and workforce relations professionals in the Office of Human Resources.
• Seek media and public relations assistance. If the situation escalates to a broader public awareness, the Office of Strategic Communication can manage media requests in consultation with the impacted school, college or division, and individuals as appropriate.
• If you believe the contacts would constitute stalking, sexual harassment or harassment based on a protected class, report to the Sexual Misconduct Resource and Response Program to receive assistance with protective measures and other available university response pursuant to campus policy.

For awareness: The Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) represents the university, including individual employees acting in their official capacities. OLA does not represent faculty, staff, or students in personal legal matters outside the scope of their employment or university business matters. If the contact is unrelated to the individual’s employment, OLA is unable to assist.