The Digital Battlefield: How Technology Fuels Abuse and How One Researcher Fights Back

In our increasingly connected world, technology has become a double-edged sword, especially for survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking. At Cornell Tech, computer and information scientist Nicola Dell has emerged as a pioneering force in studying and combating technology-facilitated abuse. Her groundbreaking work helps vulnerable individuals regain control of their digital lives and personal safety in ways that traditional security measures often fail to address.

Dell’s research focuses on a unique security challenge: predicting and preventing attacks from individuals who have intimate knowledge of their targets. Unlike conventional cybersecurity threats, domestic abusers and human traffickers exploit their familiarity with victims—they know their passwords, security questions, daily routines, and have physical access to devices. “To protect you from someone who lives in the same house or who knows your children, knows their birthdates, has access to your email accounts and can open your computer while you’re in the shower,” Dell explains, requires an entirely different approach than traditional security models. Where once stalking meant physically following someone, technology now enables perpetrators to track victims remotely through smartphones and other connected devices.

In 2018, Dell took a significant step forward by cofounding the Clinic to End Tech Abuse (CETA) at Cornell Tech—the first center of its kind offering free consultations to survivors of intimate partner violence. The clinic helps individuals discover how their devices and accounts may have been compromised and provides practical steps to restore their digital privacy and safety. This groundbreaking work recently earned Dell a prestigious 2024 MacArthur Fellowship, a $800,000 “no-strings-attached” award recognizing exceptional creativity and potential. According to Rosanna Bellini, former postdoctoral researcher under Dell and current research director at CETA, Dell’s commitment goes beyond academic interest: “I got the sense that her interests in these areas were really authentic. There was this element of wanting [to help people]… because it was the right thing to do.”

Dell’s journey to becoming a leader in this field began far from the world of computer science. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, she didn’t use computers until her teenage years, when her high school offered computer science to just a handful of students. This opportunity sparked her passion for the field and led her to pursue it at the University of East Anglia in England. There, she faced the reality of gender disparities in computing for the first time, finding herself among only a handful of women in her program. “Being surrounded by a lot of men, particularly many of whom had that childhood of coding since they were small,” created an intimidating environment, Dell recalls. Despite these challenges, she persevered through her undergraduate studies and eventually pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Washington, where her focus shifted toward using technology to improve the lives of underserved populations under the mentorship of the late Gaetano Borriello.

Today, Dell pays forward the guidance she received by supporting students from diverse backgrounds as they navigate the often opaque world of academia. Ian Solano-Kamaiko, a Ph.D. student at Cornell Tech who studies computing in healthcare settings with an emphasis on equity issues, credits Dell with demystifying the unspoken rules and expectations of academia. “She has helped demystify these opaque structures, advised me on strategic approaches aligned with my career goals and has consistently advocated for me throughout my Ph.D.,” he shares. When facing obstacles, Dell encourages her students “just to put pen to paper, just to keep putting one foot in front of the other,” instilling confidence that “it will all come together.”

Since 2016, Dell has conducted groundbreaking research on technology abuse in intimate partner violence, later expanding her work to include human trafficking. Her team has developed innovative tools, including an algorithm that identifies apps potentially used for harassment, impersonation, fraud, and information theft—work that has already led Google Play Store to remove hundreds of policy-violating applications. They’ve also created a framework for analyzing vulnerabilities in passwordless authentication systems (like fingerprint or facial recognition), revealing how abusers can exploit these technologies to maintain unauthorized access to victims’ devices even after password changes.

Beyond identifying problems, Dell actively works with technology companies to address these vulnerabilities, though responses vary by company and the complexity of required changes. She emphasizes that many issues have straightforward solutions that don’t compromise legitimate use. For instance, location tracking applications should never be covert—users should always be notified when someone can see their location, even in parent-child relationships. Finding balance between security and usability remains challenging, particularly with account recovery options that, while helpful to legitimate users, can create backdoors for abusers.

Through CETA, Dell has created a model for pro bono technical assistance that’s less common in tech than in other professional fields like law. The center trains both tech volunteers and social workers, creating cross-disciplinary partnerships that enhance everyone’s ability to help survivors recover digital safety and security. “Anyone,” Dell emphasizes, “can be trained to make a difference.” Outside of her professional life, Dell enjoys traveling and scuba diving with her wife, maintaining her connection to the natural world. “Having grown up in Africa, I care a lot about wildlife and conservation,” she says. “I’m very lucky to go scuba diving all over the world and really see some of the wonders of nature under the water.”

As our digital and physical lives become increasingly intertwined, Nicola Dell’s pioneering work offers hope for those most vulnerable to technology abuse. By addressing the unique security challenges faced by survivors of intimate partner violence and human trafficking, she’s not just advancing computer science—she’s helping create a world where technology empowers rather than endangers.