Devant 'doxing'

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi has accused former government minister Devant Maharaj of doxing owing to the releases of cell phone numbers of the Prime Minister and other Cabinet members to the public.

“Doxing is when you go out of your way to crash a system using certain truths. So, if you doxed the Prime Minister, who is the head of the National Security Council, you inundate the Prime Minister with things that cause the system not to work,” Al-Rawi said yesterday.

When this happens, the person is unable to answer the phone and may receive 1,000 whatapps messages. This is something akin to cybercrime, Al-Rawi said. “We in the Parliament will deal with (it) in the legislative measures we have.”

Al-Rawi, who is the MP for San Fernando West, was speaking to reporters at his constituency office where he assisted in distributing 900 Christmas gifts to children. He also distributed wheelchairs to constituents including two elderly people from the St Vincent de Paul Home for the Aged in San Fernando.

“He is inundating the system to crash it. If this is the way the UNC thinks it is productive to run a society, then you have to ask the question, why didn’t you dox the UNC when you were in public?” Al-Rawi asked.

He questioned why Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s cell number was not given to everybody.

“I am sure the country would have called her on e-mail gate, prison-gate, on life sport, Section 34, ganja gate. Why was that number not given out then?”

He accused the UNC of being bent on wanting to crash the national security system, and said he had not been a victim of “any unnecessary communication.”

“I am pleased to be a public servant and to do my part. But obviously, some people are intent on causing maliciousness as was done specifically on the Prime Minister which I genuinely take an issue with,” Al-Rawi said.

According to an article on the Washington Post in 2015 by Caitlin Dewey, it says doxing is the strategic outing of an opponent’s real name, home address, or other private information, published with the intention of inconveniencing, frightening or endangering them.

Maharaj kept up his campaign yesterday and circulated the numbers for Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, Public Administration Minister Marlene McDonald, Housing Minister Edmund Dillon, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, Sport Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharath, Culture Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Ayanna Webster-Roy, parliamentary secretary Avinash Singh, Tunapuna MP Esmond Forde and even fired minister Darryl Smith. He previously posted the numbers for Education Minister Anthony Garcia, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus and National Security Minister Staurt Young on social media.

Webster-Roy, the Tobago East MP, in a "clap back" on her Facebook page sent this message to anyone who made nuisance calls to her: "Anyone who prank call me or send me nuisance messages I am posting their number. The first person according to my caller ID was Massive Gosine. #dosodon'tlikeso." Her post included the calypsonian's cell number.