The founder of Sightline Security said she would never have gotten into the security business if she hadn’t endured years of cyberstalking in the early 2000s. Kelley Misata, who is CEO of the startup that helps nonprofits build cybersecurity into their programs, said she sought advice from law enforcement and nonprofits during that time, but neither had a clue how to help. 

Ryan White, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said he wasn’t surprised by the details of Misata’s case. “Law enforcement traditionally is used to investigating real-world crime—crimes they can investigate by going out and interviewing people and looking at real footage.” In the early 2000s, they had a long way to go to catch up to what was beginning to explode. And despite legal and technical advancements, cyberstalking remains difficult to prosecute even now, according to White.