Minnesota has strong victim‑service ecosystems. Yet digital harassment, coordinated stalking, and privacy invasions still fall through the cracks. HPRA complements—not duplicates—current resources.
| Area | Existing MN Services (examples) | Limitations | HPRA’s Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victim Support | Office of Justice Programs (OJP); County Attorney Victim–Witness; shelters & advocacy coalitions. | Designed for physical abuse & court navigation; limited capacity for doxxing, impersonation, account takeovers, and digital safety planning. | Confidential support hub focused on digital harassment & privacy defense; step‑by‑step guidance, triage, referrals, and evidence‑ready documentation. |
| Cybercrime Investigation | BCA Cybercrime Unit; local police investigations. | Prioritizes hacking/fraud/child‑exploitation; “gray‑area” harassment and coordinated online stalking often fall below action thresholds. | Collaboration & training for investigators; victim guidance on preserving admissible evidence; pattern analysis to accelerate viable cases. |
| Community Education | Libraries, schools, community orgs. | Focus on passwords/phishing basics; limited coverage of targeted harassment, OSINT‑driven doxxing, surveillance awareness, and safe de‑escalation online. | Practical workshops on doxxing defense, threat modeling, privacy hygiene, and platform‑specific reporting playbooks. |
| Policy & Advocacy | Broad coalitions (DV/SA, youth safety, data privacy groups). | Cyberstalking, impersonation, deepfake harms, and coordinated disinformation are inconsistently addressed and under‑enforced. | Targeted policy agenda for privacy rights; model language, testimony support, and community data to inform modernized statutes. |
| Student Opportunities | MN colleges/universities cybersecurity programs. | Limited direct‑service experience; few applied pathways with measurable community impact. | HPRA Cyber Fellows—supervised internships & volunteer projects that bridge education→employment. |
| Holistic Privacy | Fragmented: domestic safety, fraud prevention, general literacy. | No single org dedicated to both digital and physical privacy threats (spyware, IP theft, neighborhood/workplace surveillance). | Privacy‑first services tying technical defense, safety planning, and legal navigation together. |