Friday 30 December 2016

SumTips: 11 Countries Where Journalism Still Threatens Personal Safety

Syrian flag and mapIn August, we reported the deaths of 27 journalists since the beginning of 2016. Now, the year closes with a total of 48 journalist lives lost: 18 murdered, 26 killed in crossfire or combat, and 3 killed on dangerous assignments. The Committee to Protect Journalists’ list has grown to include:

Syria – 6 more journalists killed (14 total)
  • Mohsen Khazaei, an Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Agency (IRIB) reporter, was killed in November by shrapnel. He had been reporting on fighting in western Aleppo.
  • Abdul Salam Kanaan, an Al-Jisr TV photographer, was killed in October by shrapnel from a missile. He had been recording Syrian airstrikes on Zafraneh at the time.
  • Taha Shawkat Al-Halou, freelance photographer and former photographer and reporter for the Daret Ezza Media Center, was killed in August by a missile. He was returning from covering airstrikes in Aleppo.
  • Ahmad Hallak, an Al-Buraq Media Institution correspondent, was killed in August by an airstrike. Hallak had been en route to report on fighting in Aleppo.
  • Mohammed Sayyed Hassan, an All4Syria reporter and Al-Nabaa Media Center founder, was killed in August by an airstrike. Hassan had been reporting on Russian airstrikes on Atareb at the time.
  • Abdullah Mohammad Ghannam, a correspondent for the Shahba Press Agency, was killed in July by an airstrike. He had been filming the fallout of a previous airstrike.

Iraq – 4 more journalists killed (6 total)
  • Ali Risan, an Al-Sumaria TV channel cameraman, was killed by a sniper’s bullet in October. Risan had been covering fighting between government security forces and Islamic State forces in the Al-Shura area.
  • Ahmet Haceroglu, a Turkmeneli TV manager, was shot and killed by a sniper’s bullet in October. He had been covering fighting between Kurdish security forces and Islamic State forces in Kirkuk.
  • Mustafa Said, a Kurdistan TV cameraman, was killed in August by mortar fire. He had been covering fighting between Kurdish security forces and Islamic State forces near Mosul.
  • Ali Mahmud, an Al-Ghadeer TV cameraman, was killed in July by a heat-seeking missile. He had been covering fighting between Kurdish security forces and Islamic State forces near Mosul.

Yemen – 2 more journalists killed (6 total)
  • Awab al-Zubiry, a freelance photojournalist and communications student, was killed in November by explosives. He had been reporting on fighting between pro-government and rebel forces in Taiz.
  • Mubarak al-Abadi, president of the Nabaa Media Foundation, was killed in August by mortar shell. He had been reporting on fighting between pro-government and rebel forces in al-Jawf province.

Afghanistan – 2 more journalists killed (4 total)
  • Naimatullah Zaheer, a reporter for Ariana News Television Networks, was killed by a roadside bomb in November. Zaheer had been en route to Lashkar Gah, where the Afghan military and the Taliban had fought the night prior.
  • Mohammad Nasir Mudasir, editor-in-chief of Melli Paigham Radio and founding member of the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association, was shot and killed by unknown gunmen outside his office in December. Mudasir had frequently received threats from the Taliban.

Libya – 1 more journalist killed (3 total)
  • Jeroen Oerlemans, a freelance photographer from the Netherlands, was killed in October while covering a battle in Sirte. He had been shot while running across a street to capture an image of the front line.

Somalia – 3 journalists killed
  • Mahad Ali Mohamed, a Codka Mudug Radio journalist, was shot and killed after leaving his house in November. A stray bullet from ongoing fighting was responsible for his death.
  • Abdiaziz Ali, a Radio Shabelle journalist, was shot and killed in September by two men on motorbikes. Ali had recently contributed to a series about Somalis forced to flee their homes.
  • Sagal Salad Osman, a Radio Mogadishu producer and presenter, was shot and killed in June on her university campus. The police believe Al-Shabaab to be responsible.

Pakistan – 2 journalists killed
  • Mehmood Khan and Shehzad Ahmed, cameramen for DawnNews and Aaj News, respectively, died in August in a Quetta suicide attack that killed more than 70. Khan and Ahmed were in attendance to film a group assembled to mourn the loss of Bilal Kasi, the murdered president of the Baluchistan Bar Association.

Guinea – 1 journalist killed
  • El-Hadj Mohamed Diallo, reporter for Guinée7 and Afrik, was shot and killed in February during unrest outside a meeting of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea, the country’s main opposition party. Diallo was in attendance to report on the events.

Ukraine – 1 journalist killed
  • Pavel Sheremet, a writer for Ukrainska Pravda and recipient of CPJ’s 1998 International Press Freedom Award, was killed in July when the car he was driving exploded. Sheremet had been on his way host a show at Radio Vesti.

Myanmar – 1 journalist killed

  • Soe Moe Tun, a reporter for Daily Eleven, died in December in an attack that left bruises on his face and head. He regularly reported on sensitive subjects.

Brazil – 1 journalist killed
  • João Miranda do Carmo, editor of the confrontational SAD Sem Censura (Santo Antonio do Descoberto Uncensored) was shot and killed outside his house in July. Prior to the attack, he had received death threats and witnessed his car set on fire.

Be safe, surf secure and stay Rando!



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Thursday 22 December 2016

Emerging Economy Cyber Alerts - December 22, 2016


Policy
their legislation today could be yours tomorrow

Thai flag and map 

Thailand has amended its cybercrime law, in a move that will only strengthen government surveillance and censorship. State officials no longer need court approval to access service provider data or to remove websites that threaten national security or “good morals”





Privacy, Surveillance and Censorship
government isn't always on your side

Turkish flag and map 

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Turkey had blocked the Tor anonymity network and Tor browser. Now, following the assassination of a Russian ambassador to Turkey, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are also banned





Research and Initiatives
making your world a more cybersecure place

Indian flag and map 
India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) have released a report entitled, “Growing Cyber Security Industry: Road-map for India”. Said Nasscom’s president, “A list of 16 initiatives has been formulated by NASSCOM-DSCI to make India a global cyber-security hub. These vary in terms of priority and should be pursued within the next five years.” 


American flag and map 
The United States’ Freedom of the Press Foundation has published an open letter, signed by 150 documentary filmmakers and photojournalists, asking Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fuji and Olympus to include encryption features in their cameras. “Without encryption capabilities, photographs and footage that we take can be examined and searched by the police, military, and border agents in countries where we operate and travel, and the consequences can be dire,” argued the letter. 
 
French flag and map 
The France-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently weighed in on the encryption conversation in an 85-page report. “What ultimately matters, from a human rights perspective, is that cryptographic methods empower individuals in their enjoyment of privacy and freedom of expression, as they allow for the protection of human-facing properties of information, communication and computing,” recommended UNESCO. 


Cyberattacks
the threats we all face

Chinese flag and map 

Police in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Nigeria are working to stop an international group that has scammed 86 women out of HK$58 million. The women, largely educated and computer-proficient, were victimized by online promises of love that developed into requests for money and technology. 





Looking Back
a new glimpse at past alerts

American flag and map 

Edward Snowden followed up last week’s conversation with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey with an ask for encrypted direct messages on the United States-based platform. Dorsey responded that Twitter would consider such a move towards enhanced security. 






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Wednesday 21 December 2016

SumTips: 7 Findings from Secure the News' Leaderboard

Secure computer
At this point, the average internet user knows to check for HTTPS encryption (the little padlock at the top of a browser) before entering sensitive information online. And while many of the websites that require sensitive information—typically banks and online vendors—have made necessary security upgrades, the websites that often go forgotten are those of media outlets.

In response, the Freedom of the Press Foundation recently launched a new tool: Secure the News, a platform that provides information on the security of more than 100 media websites. The results are a little unsettling. May we suggest a VPN the next time you need to catch up on your current events?

  • 29% of news sites surveyed provide HTTPS encryption; only 14% default automatically to HTTPS.
  • The United States’ Intercept was the only site to receive an A+ security rating. Runners up include the UK’s Guardian and the United States’ Buzzfeed, ProPublica, TechCrunch and WIRED, who also provide and default to valid HTTPS. These sites have HSTS capabilities, but are not preloaded (HSTS protects against HTTPS downgrade attacks).
  • 9 news sites worldwide received a security rating of B for providing and defaulting to HTTPS, but lack HSTS altogether. These include Germany’s Die Welt; the Moscow Times; the Toronto Star and the Washington Post.
  • 15 news sites worldwide received a security rating of C. These sites offer valid HTTPS and are available over HTTPS, but do not default to it and lack HSTS altogether; they include France’s Le Monde; India’s Anandabazar; Italy’s La Stampa; Wirtualna Polska; Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya; and the UK’s Independent and BBC.
  • 25 news sites worldwide received a security rating of D. These sites only offer valid HTTPS and include Germany’s FAZ.NET; Spiegel Online and Süddeutschede; the India Times and Indian Express; Poland’s Onet; Russia’s TACC; and the United States’ New York Times and Ars Technica.
  • The remaining 50 news sites received a security rating of F, for their complete lack of HTTPS and HSTS. These global sites include Australia’s Age; China’s Global Times, People’s Daily, Shanghai Daily and Xinhua News Agency; India’s Andhrajyothi, DNA India, Hindu, Hindustan Times and Mathrubhumi; Italy’s Corriere della Sera; Qatar’s Al Jazeera; Russia’s Pravda Report; Spain’s ABC.es, el Mundo, el Pais, el Periodico and la Vanguardia; the United States’ Univision; the Associated Press; and Reuters.
  • Currently, 0 sites have committed to making a change, but the Freedom of the Press Foundation expects Secure the News’ report will begin to prompt such action.
Use HTTPS, surf secure and stay Rando!



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Monday 19 December 2016

Emerging Economy Cyber Alerts - December 19, 2016


Privacy, Surveillance and Censorship
the internet isn't always on your side

Bangladeshi flag and map 

Attempted cyber abuse of a Bangladeshi street cleaner living in Saudi Arabia led to a tweetstorm of support: when one user mocked the man for looking at gold, others came to his defense and offered him gifts ranging from an iPhone to a plane ticket to gold. 





Research and Initiatives
making your world a more cybersecure place

Iraqi flag and map



Turkey’s Middle East Technical University (METU) recently held a course to train Iraqi experts in cyber defense. Course aims included improved technical knowledge and strengthened defense capabilities.




Japanese flag and map Israeli cybersecurity company Cybereason will be partially relocating to Japan in an effort to support the nation in the fight against cyberattacks: “Japanese companies and national institutions are constantly under cyber attack, but the public awareness in Japan as to the need for cybersecurity is low compared to Israel or the United States. But now, we’ve partnered with SoftBank to establish Cybereason Japan Corp to help defend Japan,” reported Cybereason’s Lotem Guy. 



Cyberattacks
the threats we all face

Ghanaian flag and map


A failed attempt to post fake election results led Ghana’s electoral commission (EC) website to go offline for 4 hours last week. “We deplore the attempt to hack the EC’s website. Please respect the integrity and independence of the EC,” responded the commission in a tweet. 


South Korean flag and map

South Korea’s banks should expect a cyberattack from North Korea; the country is thought to have stolen classified defense materials from South Korea’s intranet. “It seems the intranet server of the cyber command has been contaminated with malware. We found that some military documents, including confidential information, have been hacked,” reported a military spokesman.




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Friday 16 December 2016

SumTips: 5 Highlights of Snowden’s Twitter Interview

American flag and map
American whistleblower and digital privacy advocate Edward Snowden made an online appearance this week in an hour-long interview with Twitter’s Jack Dorsey. The Periscope livestream remains available; for an overview of what was said, read on:
On government: The government can’t look into your life. As long as there isn’t concrete evidence that you have done something wrong, you’re supposed to be left alone. And this is why in our language we have two broad classes of participants in society. We’ve got private citizens who are supposed to be left alone, very little is supposed to be known about them. And then public officials. These are our elected representatives, high chiefs who are the ones carrying out the government’s will and supposed to be representing us. We need to know what they’re doing (emphasis added). 
On fake news: There is a sad thing that is happening in journalism right now where it feels a little bit like the truth doesn’t matter so much anymore. You get real news stories that are well reported that go out there and nobody in the Twitter realm retweets them. They’re not that interesting; they don’t make you jump out of your seat. But if you put something crazy out there, something that does make people argue about it, something that does make people be offended by it, or interested in it, or go ‘Is that true?’, they will share it, it will expand, people will talk about it, even if it’s not true.  
The problem of fake news isn’t solved by hoping for a referee, but rather because we as participants, we as citizens, we as users of these services, help each other. We talk and we share and we point out what is fake. We point out what is true. The answer to bad speech is not censorship. The answer to bad speech is more speech. We have to exercise and spread the idea that critical thinking matters, now more than ever given the fact that lies seem to be getting very popular.
On joining Twitter: What if you could tell your own story? What if you could immediately get it out there? What if you didn’t have to wait? What if you had your own voice? What if you had your own platform? This is the beauty of the internet, is that everybody is able to participate. Everybody is able to share. Everybody is able to broadcast. And you can be judged on the basis of your ideas. Can the facts that you put forward be confirmed? Is this stuff actually real? When it works as intended, it’s beautiful. Even if you’re facing the most corrupt and powerful bureaucracies in the world, you can still be heard. Maybe not by everybody, but by an extraordinary crowd.  
On making America more private: The first thing is to care. It’s getting easier and easier to try to withdraw within ourselves, within our families, within our homes. A lot of people have very tough lives. They work hard. They’ve got multiple jobs. They get home at night and they don’t want to think about politics, they don’t want to think about the problems that we’re all facing. They just want to watch their shows, forget for a few hours before they have to get up in the next morning and do it all over again, but I think we should consider that that’s something that disempowers us.  
You don’t have to live in a country where every time you dial the phone you have to worry about what it’s going to look like in a database. You don’t want to be in the kind of world where everything you type into a Google search box is known forever and shared with God knows who. We can build that.  
But it’s not enough to believe in something. It’s not enough to visualize that better world. You actually have to stand up for it. You have to risk something. You have to dare. You have to actually act. Coordinate. Talk to the people around you. Organize. And if you don’t have time, if you simply can’t, if you’ve tried and there’s no way to do that, and somehow still manage to have enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do, give resources to those who can. Invest some part of yourself, whether it’s your money, whether it’s your time, whether it’s making phone calls in organizations that actually will fight to make that better, more fair, more free world.  
On the future of surveillance: The police don’t need a warrant to get your metadata from a phone company. They don’t need a warrant to get your metadata in many cases from a technology company.  And this is a very, very dangerous thing. But why? 
It’s not just who you call. That’s the one example we use to break it down because it’s simple. It’s everyone you’ve ever called. Forever. When you called them. It’s where you called them from.  It’s what you paid for, it’s every border you’ve crossed, every purchase you make, every email you’ve sent, every website you’ve visited, everywhere your phone traveled. These things are creating records about you, activity records about you that are far more granular, far more detailed and far more complete than any team of surveillance agents, any team of covert agency operators could create on anyone even if they all work together just to watch one person. But they don’t actually have to target you anymore. This happens automatically. It happens without anybody doing anything at all. It just happens because that’s how computers work. 
This is the central problem of the future. How do we return control over our identities to the people themselves?

Be an advocate, surf secure and stay Rando


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Friday 9 December 2016

Emerging Economy Cyber Alerts - December 9, 2016


Research and Initiatives
making your world a more cybersecure place

Qatari flag and map 

India and Qatar have agreed on five pacts, which include joint efforts in cybersecurity, money laundering and terrorist financing. The agreements are seen as adding “an important dimension of bilateral technical cooperation in cyberspace and combating cybercrime to the existing framework." 
Ghanaian flag and map 





Microsoft’s Angela Ng’ang’a has announced that the company will strengthen its efforts to support Ghana in fighting cybercrime. Ng’ang’a believes all stakeholders must contribute to information sharing, awareness creation and capacity building.

Malaysian flag and map

Together, the Malaysian Digital Economic Corporation (MDEC) and Protection Group International (PGI) have laid plans to establish a Malaysian cybersecurity academy. PGI CEO Barry Roche acknowledged that, “up to 2 million cybersecurity jobs will be unfilled by 2019 unless there is a steep change in the numbers of new people entering the cyber security profession.” 




Cyberattacks
the threats we all face

Saudi flag and map


A recent disc-wiping cyberattack of Saudi government computers has been linked to a version of the Shamoon virus that also destroyed tens of thousands of Middle Eastern energy firm computers in 2012. “Why Shamoon has suddenly returned again after four years is unknown. However, with its highly destructive payload, it is clear that the attackers want their targets to sit up and take notice,” reported Symantec.



Looking Back
a new glimpse at past alerts

German flag and map 

Reports of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service working to crack WhatsApp and Telegram encryption has been met with disbelief: “Mathematically speaking, I see no chance at all: neither for the NSA, nor for the German intelligence, nor for any other security agency,” reported computer scientist Dr. Hannes Federrath. 





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Thursday 8 December 2016

SumTips: 6 Reasons the Internet Is Unkind to Indian Women

Indian flag and mapCyber VAW (violence against women) threatens women daily in India, concludes a recent study by Japleen Pasricha, founder and director of Feminism in India.com. The report, “Violence” Online In India: Cybercrimes Against Women & Minorities on Social Media offers statistics not to be overlooked:

1.    Women in India frequently block or ignore their online harassers rather than report their unwanted behaviors, despite the creation of a Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) portal for this very purpose.

2.    Of the 500 women surveyed, 36% of those who were harassed online did nothing in response. 28% merely reduced their online presence.

3.    30% were unaware that laws existed to protect them.

4.    38% of those who reported online harassment found the legal response to be “not at all helpful.”

5.    15% of respondents reported experiencing depression, stress, insomnia or other mental health issues in response to online harassment.

6.    Specific incidences include:
  • A writer, poet and activist threatened with acid attacks and gang rape for tweeting about a Hyderabad beef-eating festival.
  • An activist harassed during an online discussion about violence against women; she later left the conversation.
  • A journalist and author also known as “India’s most trolled woman.” Her decision to publish an account of her childhood sexual abuse has been met with criticisms including the label “antinational.”

Read the report, surf secure and stay Rando!



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Monday 5 December 2016

Emerging Economy Cyber Alerts - December 5, 2016


Policy
their legislation today could be yours tomorrow

Thai flag and map


A panel of Thailand’s National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) has proposed that cybersecurity policy and operation be handled by the nation’s military and police officers. The proposal, part of a larger cybersecurity study, was approved by the NRSA, 141-1.





Privacy, Surveillance and Censorship
government isn't always on your side

German flag and map 

Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service has received $160 million USD to crack the encryption of messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram. Said Chancellor Angela Merkel, “We can not afford to put our hands in our lap and trust in the efforts of others.”




Research and Initiatives
making your world a more cybersecure place

Jamaican flag and map

The Jamaican Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology recently conducted a cybersecurity training for 80 information and communications technology (ICT) experts. “This increased use of technology, not only brings increased opportunities for economic development and growth, but also increased opportunities for cybercrime,” acknowledged Trevor Forrest, senior advisor to the Minister of Science, Energy and Technology.



Russian flag and map 

An open letter to the United States Congress has requested an investigation into reports of hacking by foreign powers, especially Russia, and its potential effect on the results of the recent American presidential election. The letter was drafted by scholars of cybersecurity, national defense, authoritarian regimes and free and fair elections.

Mexican flag and map 


This week’s Internet Governance Forum in Mexico will focus on human rights and encryption, the 8th topic covered by the UNESCO Series on Internet Freedom. The research presented will provide insight into the connection between encryption and human rights, especially as it pertains to media and communications.





All images credit of BOLDG/Shutterstock.com.

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Thursday 1 December 2016

SumTips: What to Say When the Internet Goes Off

The Gambia goes to the polls on December 1, but the election’s legitimacy is already under attack. Dictatorial President Yahya Jammeh has been in power since 1994 and, by the looks of a November 30 internet and phone shutdown, has no intention of leaving office. However, as with most attempts to silence dissent, Gambia’s recent blackout has only brought more global attention to the country’s inequities:








Access the internet via VPN, surf secure and stay Rando!


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