Quarterly Report for the INFORMATION SAFETY & CAPACITY (ISC) PROJECT
Leader Cooperative Agreement Number: FD-A-00-09-00141-00 Associate Cooperative Agreement Number: AID-OAA-LA-11-00008
Period: April 1, 2019 – June 30, 2019 FY2019
Submitted To: USAID/DCHA Grantee: Counterpart International 2345 Crystal Drive Arlington, VA 22202
Contents Acronyms ...... 3 Executive Summary ...... 4 Objective 1: Improve ICT security capacity of local partner organizations ...... 4 Global ...... 4 Syria ...... 5 Balkans ...... 6 Asia ...... 9 Latin America ...... 13 South and Eastern Africa...... 16 Technology Exchange Program – Toronto, Canada (April 10 – 12, 2019) ...... 17 Objective 2: Engage with specialized audiences and marginalized populations through outreach and partnership development ...... 19 Objective 3: Foster the development of improved technology-based solutions to information security threats ...... 20 Small Technology Grants ...... 20 Objective 4: Enable civil society stakeholders to advocate on behalf of internet governance issues and/or legislation ...... 21 Monitoring and Evaluation ...... 28 Challenges ...... 28 Future Programmatic Priorities ...... 28
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Associate Cooperative Agreement Number AID-OAA-LA-11-00008
Acronyms
AOR Agreement Officer Representative CSO Civil Society Organization DDoS Distributed Denial-of-Service EU European Union FAA Fixed Amount Award FY Fiscal Year HQ Headquarters ICT Information and Communications Technology ICT4D Information and Communications for Development IGIF Internet Governance and Internet Freedom IPIT Indicators Performance Tracking Table ISC Information Safety and Capacity IT Information Technology LGBTQ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, and Queer/Questioning LP Local Partner MSF Médecins Sans Frontieres NGO Nongovernmental Organization OS Operating System PMEP Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan RFA Request for Application SDSM Social Democratic Union of Macedonia TOT Training-of-trainers VPN Virtual private network
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Associate Cooperative Agreement Number AID-OAA-LA-11-00008
Executive Summary The Information Safety and Capacity (ISC) Project provides capacity building and information security assistance to civil society activists, human rights defenders, and journalists operating in non-permissive environments around the globe. To support these stakeholders in securing their online and mobile communications so they can safely engage in the online civic space, the ISC Project provides mentoring and technical assistance within the framework of the following four objectives.
• Objective 1: Improve ICT security capacity of local partner organizations • Objective 2: Engage with specialized audiences and marginalized populations through outreach and partnership development • Objective 3: Foster the development of improved technology-based solutions to information security threats • Objective 4: Enable civil society stakeholders to advocate on behalf of internet governance issues and/or legislation
In the third quarter of FY19, the ISC Project delivered trainings to roughly 130 individuals, 6 TOT candidates, and a further 30 activists and journalists through step down activities. 4 milestones were completed by our tech grantees while over 4000 USD was provided in in-kind grants, covering the provision of routers, Yubikeys, Office licenses, secured server space and webhosting, as well as software protection from Malware. Under our Internet Freedom/Internet Governance objective, an assessment trip was conducted to Armenia and Georgia, laying the groundwork for the Project’s new buy-ins, while an IGIF delegation to RightsCon presented an effective panel on work completed by local partners in Ukraine.
Objective 1: Improve ICT security capacity of local partner organizations Global
In Q4, the ISC Project signed an agreement with Google Jigsaw to test and promote their VPN solution, Outline. Jigsaw furthermore provided the Project with 5000USD in coupons for access to their secured servers, savings which we intend to pass on to our local partners through in-kind grants. Outline developers have offered to provide remote training sessions on using the service during upcoming training workshops.
ISC Project staff are also in discussions with the Ford Foundation and Cyberspace Institute staff from Microsoft, both of which are launching relevant fellowship opportunities that members from our network could benefit from.
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Associate Cooperative Agreement Number AID-OAA-LA-11-00008
Syria
Context
In the past quarter, Russia continued to exert influence over Syria through its support of the Assad regime. Specifically, Putin announced plans to spearhead reconstruction efforts in the country, thereby reaping economic and geo-political benefits as compensation for years of military support. Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak stated in a press conference, "We have signed a road map [for coordination], not only in the field of electricity but also oil and gas, covering the restoration of oil fields and the development of new deposits.”
The economic situation in Syria is dire, and the population has been suffering from severe fuel shortages that are intensified by international blockades against Iranian tankers headed to Syria. The government has imposed rationing, allowing people to buy only 20 liters of fuel per week. Syria’s Al Watan newspaper reported that national production can only cover a quarter of the needs of the two-thirds of the country that is controlled by the Assad government. The increasing sanctions against Iran, a critical ally of Bashar al-Assad, will make Syria even more dependent on Russian support.
Another regional force heavily involved in Syrian affairs is Turkey. The Turkish armed forces and their in- country allies have been gathering troops around the city of Manbij in the northwest of Syria and observers expect an offensive against the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Unit (YPG) soon, which Turkey accuses of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Disagreements between Turkey and the US on how to deal with the YPG has proven to be a serious impediment to establishing safe zones in the north of Syria. These zones would ease Kurdish fears of Turkish domination after US president Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from Northern Syria.
In another crucial development, Russian and Syrian forces have continuously attacked the Idlib province, home to roughly three million people and the last major opposition stronghold. The offences have caused scores of civilian deaths and despite international condemnation, the Syrian and Russian air raids continue. Estimates put the death toll since late April at more than 600, in addition to hundreds of thousands being displaced (again).
Support Provided
Since May 2019, WhatsApp calls have been blocked or throttled in regime-controlled areas. This has led to an increase in the use of VPN services. The Canadian provider Psiphon reported that the number of users from Syria jumped from 100,000 users in May to over 1.5 million users in late July.
As part of the project’s on-going digital security engagement and support, the ISC team continued to assist local partners with technical support, answering specific questions and giving advice on best practices for secure communication and data protection.
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Associate Cooperative Agreement Number AID-OAA-LA-11-00008
Throughout the quarter, the Project helped reactivate several Facebook accounts for journalists and activists. For example, ISC helped a group of activist gain back access to a Facebook media page after being blocked from signing in following a hacking incident. This is a media page with almost 500,000 followers and serves as an important independent source of information on Aleppo and surrounding areas.
The ISC Project assisted three individuals with three separate online trainings to help them protect their accounts and communication. One lasted for a full day in support of an independent activist based in Damascus. The other two training sessions were half days each, one for a Facebook media page manager, and the other training was for a female activist from Suwaida who had her Facebook account hacked.
Past ToT graduates reported on their efforts to share knowledge during the last quarter. Many of the ToT graduates provided tech support to their community and colleagues. 5 of them conducted trainings for their networks, which include civil society organizations, activists, journalists, and lawyers in Lebanon, Turkey, and inside Syria. The training duration ranged from a few hours to three days. The total number of trainees reached is 73.
Future activities
We still consider Syria a closed space with extreme digital security risks, and there is a severe need for digital security training and support services provided by the ISC Project. Journalists, civil society groups, and activists are still at high risk of being targeted by the regime, and sophisticated phishing attacks through groups like the Syrian Electronic Army continue. It is crucial that the high-risk groups continue to receive support in securing their communication and data. The throttling of Whatsapp calls shows that the regime is trying to narrow the tools available for secure communication in order to increase its own capability for surveillance.
• An awareness training workshop for 11 participants is scheduled for 29 July - 2 of August in Malaysia. • A ToT training is scheduled for September
Balkans NORTH MACEDONIA
Context
The general political situation in Macedonia is improving and the country is firmly moving towards joining the European Union. This direction was confirmed by Presidential elections on April 21st and May 5th, as the Socijaldemokratski Savez Makedonije, SDSM (Socialdemocratic Union of Macedonia) candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, was awarded a solid victory. One potential danger for the pro-EU forces in North Macedonia, however, concerns recent signs from the EU leadership that the time for expansion is
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not right and that the countries of the Western Balkan will have to continue to wait. Pro-Russian parties have welcomed this posturing and began stirring fears that the EU was never honest with North Macedonia about its potential membership and was instead misleading them to further the EU’s own interests in the Balkans.
Support Provided
On June 29th the first North Macedonian LGBTQ Pride Parade was organized by one of the ISC Project’s local partners and concluded without any major complications. Police and government forces offered support to make sure there were no public incidents. Only a small group of right-wing extremists, football hooligans, and some conservative members of the Macedonian Orthodox Church organized a counter protest.
Due to the lack of funding in the Macedonian budget, ISC Project focused it's activities in Q3 on remote technical assistance and support. During this period, ISC local trainers provided technical assistance to several local partners.
• 12 technical assistances provided (anti-virus software installation, setting up secure storage for organization-wide backups, network security assessment) • 1 Local partner grant process initiated - This grant will focus on organizing digital security trainings for CSO's and journalists in North Macedonia, especially among minority groups.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
The political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains virtually unchanged. Governments at the Entity Federation and Council of Ministers level haven't yet been formed, despite promises that it would happen in May 2019 at the latest. Current information points to a government formation around October. This creates a variety of problems as current officials at the Entity Federation and Council of Ministers level do not have the technical capacity to fully govern in this interim period, stalling all major legislation and budgetary decisions. In the Entity of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik is currently presiding over the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and trying to utilize the situation to his advantage. He talks about increasing the jurisdiction of the Republic of Srpska Entity because "no one needs the Council of Ministers". His centralization of power is deeply concerning.
Support Provided
On April 1st, organizers of the first Bosnian LGBTQ Pride Parade announced September 8th as the official date. ISC Project awarded an in-kind grant to securely host the Parade’s website and provided additional DDoS protection through tech partner eQualitie (deflect.ca). The Pride Parade will demonstrate if Bosnian society is ready to accept its LGBTQ community and the first signs are positive. Many expected that certain hate groups would speak out against the parade, but a surprisingly large number of people and organizations offered their support, surpassing any level of hate. So far there have been no reports of attacks on their website.
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Associate Cooperative Agreement Number AID-OAA-LA-11-00008
• 16 Technical assistances provided • 2 new local partner assessments of media groups • 1 Basic digital security training • 1 Advanced training - Mitigation of web attacks for LBGTQ Pride website administrators • 1 In-Kind grant awarded for secure hosting • 1 Local partner grant process initiated to provide basic digital security trainings for LGBTQ activists
BALKANS REGIONAL WORKSHOP
From June 26th till June 28th, ISC Project organized a Regional Workshop in Belgrade, Serbia, focusing on surveillance and online security. These topics were chosen because illegal surveillance by Balkan governments is a huge threat, due to the lack of rule of law and abuse of security structures by those in power. The initial idea for this workshop was to include new buy-in countries that ISC was supposed to start working, along with current partners from North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to show how the ISC Project helped them in their work and share their experiences. Because there was no approval of new countries, this workshop included just 10 local partners from North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and two tech partners from BRIAR and Greenhost. During the three-day workshop, participants were informed about the latest threats in surveillance and how to protect from it. The BRIAR app was presented and how it works so that it is (almost) impossible to trace and intercept. Participants were very interested in this and by the end of workshop, a majority had the app installed. Greenhost provided a presentation of its secure hosting services and how are they defend against potential threats to their client’s websites, providing insight into latest security issues when it comes to hosting.
Future Activities
The ISC Balkan Regional Coordinator will be visiting Bosnia and Herzegovinian in upcoming weeks to meet with local partners there, especially those participating in or who may be under threat in light of the September pride parade. ISC staff will also finalize ToT grants for organizations in both North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina so that more digital security trainings can be provided in country. If the Kosovo and Serbian buy-ins are finalized, the ISC Project will organize another regional workshop to include those new countries and share experiences with our existing local partners.
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Asia CAMBODIA
Context
The Cambodian government is now drafting a new anti-cybercrime law, raising concerns that it will affect freedom of expression as the country has taken aim at critics who post on Facebook. Among those Facebook users are community activists and opposition supporters who are increasingly subject to the same pressures as their counterparts in the traditional media.
In late April, the Cambodian government signed an agreement with Huawei Technologies, allowing the Chinese firm to help the country build its 5G network, even though Cambodia is using only around 50 percent of its current 4G network. Prime Minister Hun Sen also requested that China strengthen opportunities for bilateral cooperation by offering more science and technology training opportunities for Cambodians.
Recent findings by the Media Ownership Monitor Cambodia project shows that about 95 percent of the country’s media outlets are now affiliated with the government and ruling party. The project also found that these media outlets practice self-censorship and suffer from a lack of critical reporting.
Support Provided
In Q3, the Project provided support to 23 individuals from eight organizations (KH-3, KH-4, KH-9, KH-25, KH-26, KH-27, KH-34, and KH-45). Support included assistance with software licensing, webhosting, securing network equipment and remote access, assistance with VPN and online accounts, and configuring Facebook security settings. The eight organizations that received technical assistance in this quarter are now more secure and better positioned to protect their data and privacy. Additionally, Project staff finished a basic security assessment for local partner organization (KH-11) and provided follow-up assistance fixing vulnerabilities. KH-11 has improved its security and will be able to handle security threats more effectively and efficiently in the future.
In May, the Project delivered a two-day local ToT workshop in Phnom Penh. Three trainers (all male) were provided with teachings and materials aimed at reinforcing basic skills, while introducing more advanced training topics such as mobile security, website security, and online privacy.
In June, the project staff provided a one-day basic digital security workshop in the Battambang province for KH-27 CSO members (10 male, 8 female). There was also another four-day regional workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where the project trained 14 participants (10 male, 4 female) focused on basic computer security, strong passwords, secured browsing and VPNs, security and privacy for social networks, safe email and online privacy, messaging apps, and secured mobile devices. Activities at this event included lectures, discussion sessions, and hands-on activities. As a result, two workshop trainees (KH-1 & KH-22) were able to share best practices and tools they learned with their IT team and internal staff. On average, post assessment tests showed improvement at around 40 percent.
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Future Activities
The ISC Project Local Coordinator in Cambodia is planning to have a workshop in Q4 for local partners. A number of Office licenses will also be provided to a handful of local partners in the form of in-kind grants.
BANGLADESH
Context
Bangladesh has achieved the fastest growth among Asia-Pacific economies, comprised of 45 nations, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on June 19, 2019. Bangladesh attained 7.9 percent growth - the fastest expansion since 1974 - in the outgoing fiscal year of 2018-19, according to the Manila-based donor.
ICC Communications, a private internet service provider launched Bangladesh’s first ever 100Mbps internet network along with internet telephone connection and internet TV on April 7, 2019. According to its press release, three services in one cable, called triple play service, will ensure the fastest internet to users through an underground fiber-optic network.
Bangladesh experienced a slowdown in internet connections from April 20 to May 1, 2019 due to repair work of its first submarine cable in Cox’s Bazar. The repair work led the second submarine cable to undertake the full stress of the bandwidth. Bangladesh’s first submarine cable has aged and now needs frequent maintenance. The company replaced two repeaters located in Cox’s Bazar, the landing station of the first submarine cable.
For years, mobile phone users in Bangladesh have had to bear a 15 percent VAT, 5 percent supplementary duty, and 1 percent surcharge on mobile bills for phone calls, internet, and other usage. With recent changes, customers will now pay the 15 percent VAT for phone calls and other usage, 7.5 percent VAT for mobile internet access, and 10 percent as a supplementary duty per the new national budget of FY 2019-20. Many experts from the digital industry reacted strongly against the government for this move, which will directly impact 100 million customers. As of April 2019, there were 160.05 million active mobile connections in the country, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
In Bangladesh, the use of social media is becoming prevalent in almost all sectors of society, with the younger generation becoming more social media savvy every day. Social media sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. are being incorporated in trade and businesses. Despite an increase in users, there is a serious lack of awareness about how to correctly and responsibly use social media. This has given rise to countless cases of privacy breaches, online cyberbullying, stalking, and even sexual predation. Young people have also become more susceptible to depression, social media addiction, and the loss of productivity.
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Posts, Telecommunication, and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar said on June 28, 2019 that the government will start directly "intervening" when it comes to content posted on social media beginning September 2019 using ‘collected technology’. Minister Jabbar explained that the state can control any website if it wishes to, adding, "From September on, we hope to surveil any content uploaded on social media platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube."
According to the same Minister, the government has been working on a “safe Internet” campaign since January 2019. As part of that campaign, a significant number of porn and gambling sites have been blocked. “A lot of pornographic content from YouTube has also been taken down,” he said, adding that the government blocked several fake Facebook accounts and those used for teasing girls. When asked if the move can be termed content filtering, he answered in the negative, recalling that he had a meeting with a Facebook official in Spain in February 2019 about the issue.
Slamming the government’s move, human rights activists expressed that the decision to control content will take a heavy toll on freedom of speech and thought, while deepening legal complications related to social media. Many are raising their dissenting voices on social media, which will be badly hampered once the content intervening starts.
Since early 2019, several people have been arrested under the Digital Security Act (DSA) over supposedly controversial Facebook posts. Until June 2019, 28 charge sheets have been submitted in several high-profile cases. Notably, protests were sparked in May 2019 after the poet Henry Sawpon and lawyer Imtiaz Mahmud were arrested and sent to jail for ‘hurting religious sentiments’ with their posts.
Support Provided
• Two-day training with local partner BD-26 in Jashore from April 17-18, 2019: ISC Project’s local staff conducted a two-day training between April 17-18, 2019 with local partner Rights Jessore at their offices. 14 members of this organization participated in the training. The Project provided financial support to cover partial costs for this workshop. During the two full days training, the following topics were covered:
o Digital security and threats online; o How to protect devices from Malware; o Password management and protection; o How to maintain anonymity online; o Computer maintenance; o Encryption and encrypted file containers; o Privacy and security for email and social media accounts; o Mobile phone security.
• Two-day training with local partner BD-18 in Sylhet from May 2-3, 2019: ISC Project’s local staff conducted a two-day training on May 2-3, 2019 at NGO Forum, Sylhet with the local partner BD- 18. 17 members of the organization participated in this training. The Project provided full
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financial support for this workshop. During the full two days, the following topics were covered:
o Basic steps related to digital security; o How to protect devices from Malware; o Password protection and password management tools; o How to maintain anonymity online; o Computer maintenance; o Secure email services; o Privacy and security for email and social media accounts; o Mobile phone security.
• Three-day training with 7 local partners in Dhaka from May 21-23, 2019: ISC Project organized and conducted a three-day training on May 21-23, 2019 in Dhaka with 14 members from seven local partner organizations: BD-19, BD-07, BD-16, BD-11, BD-15, and BD-24. Six participants represented indigenous and sexual minority communities of Bangladesh. The Project provided full financial support for this workshop where the following topics were covered: o Digital security and threats online o Basic steps for securing communication and devices; o Safety while browsing the Internet; o How to protect devices from Malware; o Password Protection; o How to maintain anonymity online; o Computer maintenance; o Privacy and security for email and social media accounts; o Mobile phone security.
• Visit to Chittagong District and meeting with local organizations from May 24-26, 2019: ISC Project’s regional and local staff went for an in-country assessment of the Chittagong district this period and met with five local organizations. The purpose of these meetings was to gauge the level of digital security awareness among organizations outside of the capital and assess their needs. The project will work next on identifying and training a number of ToT trainers to expand support throughout Chittagong.
• Session on “Digital Security” for Local Partner BD-16 in Dhaka on May 27, 2019: ISC Project’s local staff conducted a short, half-day session on digital security on May 27, 2019 for local partner BD-16 in Dhaka. Twenty participants were present in this session, including lawyers, community leaders, and local staff members. During the session, the following topics were covered o Basic steps related to digital security; o How to protect devices from Malware;
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o Strong passwords and password protection; o Privacy and security for email and social media accounts; o Latest social media trends.
• Technical Assistance and consultations were provided to the following partners this quarter: o 7 members of BD-18; o 4 members of BD-26; o 1 members of BD-16; o 1 member of BD-12; o 2 community members of BD-19; o 5 community members and volunteers of BD-15; o 7 members of BD-9; o 6 members of BD-7;
Future Activities
The Project's local partner BD-18 is organizing a training on digital security from 4-5 August 2019 within the Rangpur District of northern Bangladesh. The Project's local staff will jointly conduct the training along with a staff member from the local partner. ISC local staff will also conduct a training on 'Digital Security and Gender Based Violence' from 18-19 September 2019 for Counterpart International's 'Promoting Advocacy & Rights' project for 18 local partners from different parts of the country.
Latin America ECUADOR
Context
Currently, the Government of Ecuador has over control over state assets and the justice system. This has led to increased digital security measures instated within most organizations across the country, as fear and distrust of the government and intelligence or judicial entities grow. Many organizations have been affected by communication interventions, illegal text message and email reading, as well as content regulation among journalists.
Support Provided
During this quarter, ISC Project staff utilized secure communications chats to share important tips and resources related to cybersecurity, including suggested software, online tools and applications, as well as hardware to promote information security.
Through work done with our local partners, the Project was able to link with a new organization EC-42 in April, with whom we have been working closely with in recent months. EC-42 is a foundation that supports diverse civil society organizations, including activists focused on various aspects of human rights, journalists, and youth groups. Throughout two digital security trainings, participants from the
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organization were encouraged to share their new knowledge within social circles and among family members. These trainings included 30 participants from the Loja, Quito, and Guayaquil areas.
In April 2019, a ToT was implemented for 5 local partners in El Salvador, who add strength and diversity to our cadre of coaches. Each specializes in a geographic or topical area, where they conduct step-down digital security trainings.
An additional workshop was held in the El Salvador at the Counterpart office this quarter for approximately 20 people. The workshop focused discussions on key points about the state of digital security in El Salvador, as well as efforts to improve and raise awareness of information security in society. The 20 local partners from Counterpart’s Ecuador projects represented civil society and media members. A team of 5 potential trainers were identified to conduct step-down cybersecurity tasks.
Future Activities
For the last quarter of 2019, a local digital security workshop is in development for 9 local partner organizations, who will be trained on new themes and practices aimed at raising awareness in cybersecurity, especially possible dangers with PCs and mobile devices. A regional workshop is also planned for August 2019, which will include participants and trainers from the entire Latin America team.
NICARAGUA
Context
After authorities and armed pro-government groups harassed, threatened, intimidated, attacked, robbed, and confiscated equipment from journalists and bloggers this quarter, it is clear that Nicaraguan human rights defenders are increasingly becoming the targets of death threats, intimidation, online defamation campaigns, harassment, surveillance, assault, and judicial persecution.
As these events attract growing international pressure, a handful of political prisoners were released on June 11th, including Lucía Pineda & Miguel Mora - well-known journalists who spent six unjustified months in jail.
The government also released protesters who were accused of terrorism-related charges under the new counterterrorism law that was enacted in July 2018. Nevertheless, pro-government groups continue to make stigmatized statements undermining the credibility of civil society defenders, marginalized minorities, NGO’s, and independent media/journalists. Information Safety and Capacity Project | Quarterly Report | April – June 2019 14
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Support Provided
Local ISC staff continue to offer support to marginalized minorities in exile, including asylum seekers in Costa Rica. Due to the dramatic increase of fake news, social and religious leaders have damaged NGO’s credibility. The ISC Project therefore offers virtual or face-to-face assistance (depending on needs) such as the following:
• Identified three In-Kind grants, signed by local partners (NI-2, NI-27, NI-1): For NI-1 and NI-27, the in-kind grant will help them keep information safe and secure, despite the fact that Nicaraguan lawmakers arbitrarily canceled the organization’s legal status in December. Backing up their organizational knowledge will help members to restart their work after Ortega’s presidency ends. With the new security system, police officers or members of the army who confiscate office computers will not be able to retrieve any information. While FVBCH has the support of USAID to cover server costs, they have not had access to a NAS drive to back up their huge quantity of data accumulated since 1998.
• Two-day training on secure and encrypted e-mail: A ToT was conducted for two independent journalists in exile, who were instructed on how to set up mobile encryption, configurations for privacy, personalization of PIN codes for SIM cards, secure password protection for cellphone and laptops, and security of Android and iCloud accounts. Both participants also installed an application lock. In collaboration with the participants, ISC staff reviewed Facebook and Twitter’s communication regulations and standards, as most trolling attacks lead by the Nicaraguan government cite “Copyright content” as the reason for taking down an account, even when the regulation does not apply. The journalists also received a list of websites related to Facebook journalism and activism, as well as the contact information for a social media help line in case of attacks.
• Three-day training for three staff members from NI-1: The sessions focused on online risks, securing mobile devices, encryption for messaging, secure browser settings, strong password creation, encrypted email, and secure social media settings. After the workshop, each participant proved ready to share their knowledge with new beneficiaries at NI-1, covering basic principles such as raising awareness, mobile security, PIN setting, encryption for cellphones, message encryption, e-mail encryption and alternative options like Tutanota or ProtonMail, encrypted videoconference such as JitsiMeet, and best practices.
• Mentoring Colectivo de Derechos Humanos: Seven staff members received training in their offices on digital security awareness and free tools for improving basic digital security.
• Other assistance and consultations: o Mentored and assisted two trainers applying for ToT grants o Security Handbook Policies developed for NI-27 o Recovered an independent (well-known) journalist’s Fan Page o Supported independent digital media to recover a Fan Page and content for Facebook with support from Access Now
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o Assisted NI-27 with a project proposal about secure webhosting o NI-27 configured camera IP and router settings o Offered three workshops in coordination with a Venezuelan trainer and member of HQ for journalists, 15 activists and human rights defenders, and a group of refugees o Met with Nicaraguan Digital Defenders to prepare a one-day training session; later held for 9 participants o Mentored a single activist with mail encryption o Journalist ToT trainer conducted step-down activities for 26 independent journalists o Training for farm organizers on June 30th with 21 people o Mentorship provided to new volunteers (NI-27) o Prepared proposal for Regional ToT to take place in Panamá o Mentored N1 with a proposal application o Assessed new multi-platform digital media
Future Activities
A delegation of three civil society members is slated to attend the ISC project’s Global Workshop in late July. Preparations are also underway for a regional Latin America digital security training to take place in Panama in mid-August. In-kind grants will be delivered to NI-1, NI-27 NI-21 during this regional workshop.
South and Eastern Africa TANZANIA
In April 2019, the ISC Project held two, one-day workshops with two local partners: the Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA) and the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC). A total of 27 organizational staff (12 from TAMWA and 15 from LHRC) attended the trainings. The workshops were part of ongoing capacity building engagements with local partners who were provided with hands-on technical skills and tools for information security, mobile security and secure web browsing, including anonymity and circumvention techniques.
The trainings in this period achieved dual objectives: Important digital safety skills were shared with staff, while at the same time, two of the ISC ToT candidates based in Tanzania also facilitated a few sessions as part of their training, which was evaluated by the Regional Specialist. Exposing ToT candidates to actual audiences and allowing them to conduct sessions together with the Regional Specialist gives them relevant exposure, strengthens their ability to plan and facilitate sessions on their own, and creates familiarity with the organizations they will likely be working with in the future.
SOUTH AFRICA
While on an assessment trip to South Africa in May, the Regional Specialist spent time with two of the three ToT candidates based in that country. This face-to-face interaction enabled upcoming trainers to
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ask questions related to their ToT and go over some tools and revise material covered in their initial training held back in February.
ZIMBABWE & LESOTHO
In the period under review, there were no activities undertaken in these two countries. However, the Regional Specialist maintained engagement with the ToT candidates in both countries as well as South Africa, through the ToT Signal group. In particular, the discussion about how group members can self- teach and advance their knowledge outside the ToT, using the TOTEM Project as an example. There was also a detailed discussion about the discovery of the WhatsApp spyware vulnerability and its implications to users, as well as solutions.
Technology Exchange Program – Toronto, Canada (April 10 – 12, 2019)
The ISC project completed its annual technology exchange program in Toronto, Canada this past April. Local partners from Latin America, the Balkans, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East met with tech partners like Mozilla and Psiphon, as well as Canadian digital activists, to exchange experiences and best practices. At these events, the ISC staff facilitated connections between our local partners and developers with the aim of strengthening the relationship between at-risk communities and key technologists. The meetings were also a means of encouraging tech companies to better understand the specific contexts in which our partners operate and use their products. The program’s impact was multifold, as participants learned of effective information security tools and methodologies for raising awareness around digital hygiene, and tech partners were able to strengthen the inclusivity and diversity of feedback loops.
Participants
• South Africa: self-employed, LBGTQ activist • Ecuador – Fundación Huaira (ICT Specialist) • Ukraine – Crimea House (human rights) • North Macedonia – Metamorphosis (human rights, internet freedom, digital security) • Bosnia and Herzogovenia – Zasto Ne! (fact-checking NGO) • Syria – Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (media)
Tech Partners
• Mozilla Foundation • Psiphon • Civic Tech • Digital Public Space • eQualit.ie • Copperhead OS
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• Toronto Mesh • Free Geek
Support Provided
During the program’s first meeting with the Mozilla Foundation, attendees were provided with a sneak peak of this year’s Internet Health Report (http://Mzl.la/ihr) which had not been published at the time. The report’s main editor provided background into how data is captured for the report and which methodologies are utilized. The session was important for both our local partners and the Mozilla Foundation, as the Foundation relies on local organizations such as the ISCs’ local partners to do the data capturing for their reporting. Connections made at the meeting may well lead to future collaboration. Additionally, the Mozilla Foundation’s Director of Leadership Programs provided attendees with an overview of the different funding and fellowship opportunities available to activists and technologists, like our local partners.
Our session with Psiphon was similarly fruitful, as the VPN service provider designs tools specifically for users to circumvent government censorship, as is common in many ISC Project target countries. Developers at Psiphon were kind enough to create an ad-free version of their VPN services for the ISC Project which incudes our logo: https://s3.amazonaws.com/psiphon/web/yfsv- jkzi-cra6/en/download.html#direct
The meeting with Civic Tech, Toronto Mesh, and Free Geek happened simultaneously in a casual, group hang out format. Civic Tech is a grassroots organization that holds weekly “hackathons” where developers, IT specialists, and lay persons pitch tech-focused ideas to support the community. Toronto Mesh is an informal group of mesh network- enthusiasts who described to our local partners how point-to-point nodes work and settings where they are useful. Free Geek is another community-based organization in Toronto which refurbishes old laptops, cellphones, tablets, and mobile devices and gives them back to the community. The group also conducts digital literacy trainings. Meeting with this grassroots organizations was important for ISC local partners who work in the community capacity building space within their own countries and could benefit from shared experiences and the sharing of best practices.
Local partners’ meeting with Digital Public Square (DPS) was a crowd favorite. DPS is a non-profit run out of Toronto University which designs projects aimed at breaking down obstacles that underserved communities face when attempting to benefit from digital technologies. Participants were impressed by the diversity of the organization’s projects, some of which utilize social media platforms to measure government accountability in Iran and gamification apps used to raise awareness around digital hygiene in China. Information Safety and Capacity Project | Quarterly Report | April – June 2019 18
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Although based out of Montreal, the ISC Project was able to invite eQaulit.ie founder down for a presentation on two important tools, Deflect (which defends against DDOS attacks) and CENO (a tool for circumventing online censorship using peer-to-peer proxies). Both services will prove valuable for our local partners who operate in closing or closed environments.
The last meeting arranged under this exchange trip was with Copperhead OS, a company which has created an Android operating system that doesn’t utilize or connect to Google Play. The OS is currently popular with defense agencies, but the company is trying to develop a cheaper version for use by non- profits. The meeting was helpful for the Copperhead representative to hear from prospective non-profit clients and for local partner participants to become aware of the dangers that may be associated with downloading mobile applications.
Future Activities
Moving forward, both sets of partners will have the opportunity to remain in touch through our forthcoming alumni network platform and subsequent regional or global workshops.
Objective 2: Engage with specialized audiences and marginalized populations through outreach and partnership development
BANGLADESH
The Project continued providing mentoring and assistance to minority communities in Bangladesh. throughout this reporting period.
The ISC Project engaged with several Local Partners, including BD-14, BD-12, and BD-09 by providing technical assistance and advice through awareness-raising trainings for their staff and volunteers.
NICARAGUA
The ISC Project team continued to provide support to Nicaraguan activists and minority groups. Activities included three separate trainings for marginalized groups and migrants, as well as technical assistance to a group leading the feminist movement in Nicaragua. The latter will provide ongoing technical advice and conduct a cybersecurity training session for feminist groups from the region.
Additionally, the Project assisted NI-27 with a grant application to secure funds for a project that would increase internet connectivity for refugees in Costa Rica. NI-27's project intends to secure services from a private satellite internet provider through which the Asociación Nicaragüense Pro Derechos Humanos (ANPDH) will be able to offer a private, secure, and reliable service to refugees residing in rural areas. ANPDH will work to ensure internet connectivity for the targeted population so users are able to connect safely to the internet, control how and when data is shared, reduce filtering of their personal data, and recover sensitive data and information.
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TANZANIA
During an April visit to Tanzania, the ISC team engaged with Tanzania’s USAID mission and—at the request of their Deputy Director—and facilitated a training session on cyber-security for mission staff. During the session, the ISC Project not only shared critical cyber-security measures and recommendations with mission staff, but it also provided an overview of the Project’s current work in the region.
The Project also held meetings with Internews and NDI, two of our strategic partners, to discuss synergies and areas of possible collaboration. After the meeting, Internews requested training support for women journalists who are increasingly targeted due to the current volatile socio-political environment of the region. The training was scheduled for this past June but had to be postponed to August due to the hospitalization of the ISC Project’s Regional Specialist.
SOUTH AFRICA
Our Regional Specialist represented the ISC Project at a Southern Africa regional responders meeting organized in May by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), which aimed to map out current digital security support efforts in the region. During the meeting, our Regional Specialist discussed the Project’s Training of Trainers (ToT) work with South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe trainers working in Southern Africa. Participants discussed regional challenges, such as the limited investment and support for the expansion of trainer’s networks in the region. Participants worried that while the demand for this kind of support continues to grow, lack of investments has led to a smaller network of digital safety trainers in the region. Moreover, participants discussed the development of a regional strategy that would take advantage of existing capacities and synergies to increase digital safety support for vulnerable environmental rights groups in South Africa, whose work has not been strongly addressed by current local partners in South Africa.
Objective 3: Foster the development of improved technology-based solutions to information security threats
Small Technology Grants In Q3, the project successfully closed out each of its remaining 3 technology grants. The following milestones were achieved:
The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails) is a security-focused Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity
• The overall goal of this grant was to provide the TAILS system in a USB Image format. The grantee’s sixth and final deliverable fixed post-release bugs and collected success metrics from
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initial users, found in a public report here: http://lists.autistici.org/message/20190331.183400.d3d2350c.en.html
Digital Security Lab is an ISC graduated organization that aims to support the CSO community in Ukraine in all aspects of Digital Policy and Security
• The specific project covered by this grant was to launch Ukraine’s first knowledge depository website on digital security. Milestone 4 saw the launch of the website, which showcases presentations, resources, and articles on digital hygiene and how to best configure mobile device settings. With Milestone 5, DSL’s web developer corrected some bugs detected during user-testing. On each page there is now a button “report a mistake” for users to inform DSL of any remaining errors.
Guardian Project creates easy-to-use and secure apps, open-source software libraries, and customized mobile devices
• With this grant, the Guardian Project implemented its Translation Flows Project, which aimed to complete a fully integrated workflow for developers, content writers, and translators who intend to publish a multi-lingual website using the Jekyll static site generator. The grant project was completed this quarter and code for the translation flow was made public to serve as an example for other static site generators to build upon.
Objective 4: Enable civil society stakeholders to advocate on behalf of internet governance issues and/or legislation
The Internet Governance/Internet Freedom (IGIF) project activities include partners across four target countries of Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe and contain a diverse mix of policy research, public advocacy, capacity building, and support for strategic litigation and represents an expansion of core IGIF competencies. Counterpart International’s partnerships in the countries are designed to build and strengthen a community of human rights activists dedicated to pushing back against threats to fundamental online rights and to expand the number of actors engaged in this type of advocacy through multi- stakeholder meetings, raising public awareness, and rapid response messaging, among other activities.
RightsCon 2019 Counterpart’s IGIF project supported a delegation of five partners representing Sri Lanka, Venezuela, Ukraine and Zimbabwe to the annual global RightsCon Conference in Tunis, Tunisia held from 11-14 June 2019. Counterpart’s civil society delegation featured activists, researchers, a lawyer and a gender and tech specialist. Thanks to Counterpart’s support delegates were able to participate and contribute to sessions covering a wide range of important issues
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affecting human rights in the digital space, in which the IGIF team facilitated a handful of bilateral delegation meetings, including Twitter, Ranking Digital Rights, Google, Media Legal Defense Initiative (MLDI), among others. CPI’s IGIF held a joint public panel with past collaborator Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), entitled Dispatches from the front lines of civil society's pushback against closing space in which panelists shared challenges of closing space in vastly different environments as well as strategies for keeping the space open.
The ISC IGIF Project - Q3 External Activities ICT4D Conference Kampala, Uganda 30 April - 03 May 2019 The conference brought together public, private and CSOs eager to share practical insights on applying digital technology to development, humanitarian and conservation challenges.
• The ISC participated in a panel Cybersecurity Stories from the Front - ISC panelists provided a global overview of the project in addition to two local partners from Zimbabwe and Venezuela highlighting the impact of the ISC project in their countries. A second panel focused on Big Discussion: Balancing Data Transparency with Privacy and Security in which the ISC project shared its expertise in securing data flows to ensure responsible use of data while assuring its integrity and security.
SRI LANKA
Partner LIRNEasia, Sri Lanka’s in-depth policy think tank, delved into the beginning stages of research that will uncover what internet users in Sri Lanka understanding of digital risks concepts (including but not limited to the risks of security violations, privacy violations, freedom of expression and democracy) on the internet, particularly among identified marginalized groups, to enable an in-depth understanding of the issues from the viewpoint of internet users.
Field work consisting of 14 focused group discussions [FGDs] and 12 in depth interviews [IDIs] to be conducted among a targeted sample of consenting internet users (e.g., those coming from various marginalized groups) in urban centers is currently underway and will be facilitated by a semi-structured discussion guide which will collect relevant data from respondents. The discussion guide was developed to address the research objectives and is designed in a way to explore emerging themes—including but not limited to privacy and security, online presence and information sharing, online harassments and safe browsing—in hopes that discussions will progress and enable researchers to identify what is needed by Sri Lankan internet users at a policy level to ensure online security and privacy.
The work commissioned under Counterpart will complement a larger ongoing International Development Research Center (IDRC) funded project on cyber policy and digital rights in Asia.
UKRAINE
Ukraine’s online space, mirroring its road to democracy, continuously faces internal and external threats. On 11 July 2019, the Parliament adopted the Election Code which includes provisions on political campaigning and freedom of expression during elections. The proposed legislation has not been Information Safety and Capacity Project | Quarterly Report | April – June 2019 22
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signed by the President and the final text of the Draft Election Code has yet to be revealed. Once publicly released, Counterpart’s UA partner DSL will provide a legal analysis report covering its implications for online freedom of expression.
Digital Security Lab (DSL)
This quarter, the DSL continued its monitoring and advocacy around internet governance and online human rights as part of its ongoing development of the Digital Rights Agenda for Ukraine. The agenda will include recommendations on improvement of the digital rights protection in Ukraine and will be addressed to public authorities – as to the amendments to current legislation and administrative practice aimed to strengthen the human rights implementation in digital
Figure 1 DSL Legal Coordinator, Vita environment, and to civil society organizations, human rights Volodovska presenting thesis on defenders and media – as to their role in promotion and disinformation and digital rights at the Round defense of digital rights in Ukraine. Table “Accountability and Internet Democracy” at Ukrainian Parliament on May The Digital Rights Agenda will also contain the Resolution of 30. video (DSL comments: 25.36-32.31). Support that will be open for signing to members of parliament, government officials, politicians, civil society organizations and activists, human rights defenders, media and journalists, as well as other individuals who are willing to commit to the promotion and implementation of the aforementioned recommendations. Under the projects’ three stated objectives to prevent, encourage and raise awareness of these issues, the project participated in a number of public engagements and disseminated public education materials.
• DSL together with FreeNet Ukraine Coalition prepared the statement dedicated to the second annivers ary of Internet blocking in Ukraine, calling on government officials to end the practice of internet ban. • DSL lawyer Maksym Dvorovyi blog from the International Committee on Disinformation and Fake News. • Analytical report on the definition and scope of the “digital rights” in Ukraine prepared by DSL and published by Human Rights Centre Zmina. • Request for information sent to government agencies National Defence and Security Council and State Security Service questioning the effectiveness of imposed sanctions of website blocking. • Draft of section of Digital Rights Agenda “Freedom from hate speech” is prepared. This section includ es definition of hate speech, international standards and case law, national legislation and court practi ce, key challenges and recommendations for improvement. • On July 9, 2019, DSL took part in the pre-election marathon for political parties, organized by Ukrainian Crisis Media Centre. DSL representatives asked questions about the opinion of the parties on content regulation on the internet, social media banning, and plans for new legislation in the internet field.
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HUMAN RIGHTS PLATFORM (HRP)
HRP’s activities for quarter three included media engagements, workshop convenings and monthly reporting of the Barometer of Digital Rights which documents and highlights threats to online rights in the country. In April 2019, the methodology for the monitoring of violation of digital rights in Ukraine was created by the Human Rights Platform in conjunction with activities of nonprofit organizations- members of the FreeNet Ukraine Coalition. The Coalition was formed in response to government’s attempts to restrict the internet, block websites, and regulate the internet without regard for rule of law principles. As a result, human rights organizations, lawyers and activists joined efforts online in May 2018 to ensure compliance with human rights standards, forming the existing coalition.
The purpose of the monitoring is to identify violations of digital rights in Ukraine and to study their quantitative and qualitative characteristics. The subject of the monitoring is cases of digital rights violations in Ukraine.
The object of the monitoring is web-resources where information concerning the digital rights violations in Ukraine is published, including: the Register of Judgements, official websites of specific authorities and nonprofit organizations, online editions, and social networks.
May 2019 – Eight (8) cases of digital rights violations of individuals were recorded, three were attacks, 1 - search, 1 - hacking of web page, One (1) - restriction of freedom of speech based on court decision, and Two (2) of them were cases of interference with secrecy of correspondence. June 2019 - Thirteen (13) violations of digital rights were recorded, namely, four (4) violations of general digital rights, two of which related access to internet and two cases were about violation of right to secret voting; nine (9) digital rights violations of individuals, seven (7) of which - violations of right to freedom of speech online, and two (2) violations of rights to private life and data protection. In addition, three (3) threats to digital rights recorded. Since May 2019, monitoring is being conducted on a regular basis and changes are being made based on both new experiences and challenges faced in the area of digital rights violation.
As a member of the FreeNet Ukraine Coalition, HRP specializes in assisting strategic litigation cases in an effort to advance media and press rights. Their project provides training and support for lawyers to engage in strategic litigation cases involving fundamental rights online. In late May 2019, HRP conducted a two-day capacity building training for lawyers in Kyiv, Ukraine. The training covered the topic “Digital rights in Ukraine, Laws and its Implementation.” The detailed agenda of the event can be found here and included 17 Participants, 10 men and 7 women. The workshop was divided into two parts, the first half dedicated to legislation and the second to the court practice and cases on digital rights violations. The presentation materials covered both international and national court practice as well as international legislation.
INTERNEWS UKRAINE
Internews’ core deliverable for this grant is the Green Book on Internet Governance and Information Policy, which will contain legislative models to assist policy makers in addressing protections for
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fundamental rights online. A recently established NGO, the Ukrainian Foundation for Security Studies, will partner with Internews to help organize the stakeholder meetings.
Under objective one of the project--to facilitate the efficient platform for key stakeholders--Internews Ukraine conducted two working meetings of stakeholders, representing civil society, private sector and the business sector (ICT community), and two working meetings for government representatives. Organization of stakeholder gatherings provided a platform for opinion leaders in the area of internet freedom in Ukraine. Working meeting of stakeholders identified three key threats to internet governance in Ukraine, including but not limited to: regulation of online space, misinformation campaigns, and media freedoms. Working group meetings resulted in the public report of recommendations from the stakeholder working groups and published here. Key findings noted the difference in CSO and government vocabulary and rhetoric, while similarities lie in the lack of mechanisms for proving illegal actions online and the necessity to standardize gaps in legislation.
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Two working meetings of civil society and IT-sector held on April 18 and May 21, 2019
April 18 convening - 5 key discussion issues:
• presentation of the project and its key goals to civil society and IT-sector working group • discussion of the fundamental relations on Internet in Ukraine • definitions of the terms "free Internet", "Internet regulation", "Internet governance" in the context of Ukraine • discussion of the role of subjects in the process of "Internet governance" • updates on main normative documents regulated online relations in Ukraine. • Total: 18 participants (including 2 moderators), 11 women and 7 men – list.
May 21 convening - 5 key discussion issues
• presentation by Julia Kazdobina on British experience of combating misinformation online • discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of the model of functioning of the Internet in Ukraine • updates on international practices of Internet governance • debate on functioning the existing model of "Internet Governance" in Ukraine • discussion of current threats in online sphere today • Total: 13 participants (including 2 moderators), 6 women and 7 men – list
Two working meetings of representatives government officials held on April 25 and May 28, 2019 Internews Ukraine in cooperation with its partner UFSS brought together stakeholders representing government institutions, including National Security and Defense Council, SBU, Ministry of Information Policy, State e-governance agency, etc.
April 25 convening - 5 key discussion issues
• updates on current government policies • discussion of the challenges of Internet regulations • discussion about the issues of digital rights on the Internet • discussion of the role of subjects in the process of "Internet governance" • updates on main normative documents regulated online relations in Ukraine • Total: 11 participants, 3 women and 8 men – list
May 28 convening – 4 key discussion issues
• discussion on normative documents regulated online relations in Ukraine • updates on international practices in the Internet governance • debate on creating a model of "Internet Governance" • discussion of current threats connected with the Internet today. • Total: 11 participants (including 2 moderators), 1 women and 10 men – list
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Under project objective three--To monitor conflicts and incidents in the area of Internet governance through sustaining website netfreedom.org.ua--Internews Ukraine monitors developments in the area of internet governance in Ukraine by covering incidents, publishing news and analytics on the on-line platform
The website is a source for various institutions, including participants of our working meetings, members of the IT-sector and civil society, as well as government authorities. In April 2019, the project team redesigned the site, adjusting it to the needs of readers, and introduced sections for “internet freedom” and “digital rights.”
• 65 publications were published in the section News as of May 30, 2019, including key texts on developments in internet governance issues since 2019 April, 1. The section helps users to quickly navigate to related key publications. The section also collects all related news on advocacy techniques and key developments in legislation in Ukraine. • 13 long publications were published on the website (section Analytics), including 2 month newsletters (each overview is prepared in Ukrainian and English). This section and newsletters help users to quickly navigate to related key publications. • 4,890 the number of monthly recipients that receive the Internews Ukrainian language newsletters, while the English version is sent to 192 recipients representing key stakeholders. • Social media plays a significant role in reaching target audiences. The key social media channels are Facebook and Twitter. The page Internet freedom / MediaNext Ukraine has 3901 followers and Twitter account Internet Freedom has 4425 followers.
ZIMBABWE MISA Zimbabwe - Due to unforeseen delays in project deliverables Q3 reporting for MISA ZIM will be reported in Q4 respectively.
VENEZULA
Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) - Due to unforeseen delays in project deliverables Q3 reporting for IPYS will be reported in Q4 respectively.
COUNTRY ASSESSMENTS
We took an assessment trip to Georgia and Armenia in May 2019 to:
• Meet with potential partners, stakeholders, and policy specialists to learn about regional policy landscape (eg. issues, players, organizations) and to narrow down a programming scope for an expected RFA later this year • Promote the upcoming RFA and encourage applications • Promote the open civic tech specialist position and meet with potential candidates
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We met with 7 potential local partners and explored topics such as net neutrality, data governance, national digital strategy and media transparency. We are waiting for a final agreement from our AOR to move on this activity.
Monitoring and Evaluation The project made significant progress this quarter on many performance indicators per its performance monitoring and evaluation plan (PMEP). See Annex 1: Indicators Performance Tracking Table (IPTT).
Challenges ISC Project Security Senior Manager overseeing the Syria program could benefit from trips to assess local partners in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, however mission approval has proved complicated. There are a wide variety of Syrian activists and journalists operating within these countries who are vulnerable to digital attacks.
In Cambodia, as in most ISC Project countries, local partner organizations are small and don't have the capacity or internal resources to employ technical personnel with an IT specialty. Project staff may therefore spend more time providing assistance to these organizations and fixing the myriad of issues encountered.
Within the ISC Project annual workplan, a Balkan regional workshop was outlined to include participation from the new buy-in countries of Serbia and Kosovo this quarter. Nevertheless, as no buy- in agreement has yet been sighed, Project staff proceeded with a Regional workshop inclusive of only Bosnian and Macedonian local partners.
Future Programmatic Priorities The ISC Project’s annual Global workshop is slated to be held between July 15-17 in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 70 participants, inclusive of local partners, technologists, relevant researchers, and IGIF advocates from over 20 countries are expected to attend.
Within the last week of July, a basic digital security training for 11 Syrian local partners will take place in Malaysia.
A Latin American regional workshop is being planned for the second week of August in Panama. Participants from Ecuador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Venezuela will be in attendance for this opportunity to exchange best practices in the field of digital security and human rights.
A fifth cycle of the ISC Project’s technology grant program will kick off during Quarter 4. An estimated 70,000 USD is likely to be awarded to grantees promoting projects which adapt, test, or translate existing technologies relevant to the information security field.
The 12th annual Latin American IGF conference will take place in Bolivia this August. The IGIF team is organizing a delegation of local partners to attend and present their campaign work. Information Safety and Capacity Project | Quarterly Report | April – June 2019 28
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