World Cup - not all fun and games

Finally! After four years of waiting, it's time for the World Cup! It's a time to wave your flags, shout until you have no voice, and maybe skip out of work. There's nothing like it in the world, this global celebration of sport, when half the world tunes in to watch with friends and family and cheer on the best players in the universe.

Unfortunately, for some people, it isn't all fun and games. For LGBT fans, it can be downright dangerous, especially in Russia.

The St. Petersburg based LGBT group Coming Out has set up a hotline for LGBT football fans visiting Russia in response to the oppressive environment created by the Putin regime - including recent discriminatory legislation - and threats from homophobic football gangs roaming the country. Violence against LGBT in Russia is not uncommon.

We invite LGBT football fans in Russia to use SumRando Messenger to communicate safely and privately during the World Cup. Our end to end encryption is top notch and is under the Russian radar, unlike some of the more trendy messenger apps. (For example, the Russian regime has given thumbs up to hacking WhatsApp and Skype as part of its plan to monitor all internet traffic in the country.) Even better, SumRando Messenger gives you the ability to destroy your messages forever, even if they are on the other person's phone. Leave no trace of your communications. Leave no "evidence" for oppressive governments to exploit should you be arrested for simply being you.

SumRando Cybersecurity is a proud supporter of LGBT rights. Time moves forward, not backwards. It's time for humanity to move forward as well. Until then, we'll continue to provide the tools to keep LGBT and any oppressed group safe from the hateful wrath of oppression.

#Jan25 revisited

A rock n roll band. A flag. A state-run media backlash. Arrests. Anal probes. All in the name of dictatorship.

We look upon 25 January with nostalgia or despair or in some cases, horror, and we remember when we had hope for Egypt, when a hashtag #Jan25 was about power of the people. Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi has created a dystopian nightmare from the ashes of that hope, a nightmare full of police brutality, lawlessness and vigilantism, torture, violence, and death.

"Fighting terrorism," an excuse made popular by the President of the United States George W. Bush, is the justification given for the crackdowns on human rights in so many countries, especially in Sisi's Egypt, who seems to be under the impression that he is some sort of pharaoh divinely appointed to rule Egypt. From "fighting terrorism," he has expanded his facetious legal arsenal to oppress. The West mostly ignores what is happening, choosing to side with a "partner" in the "war on terror" rather than standing up for real human rights, even if Sisi's "war on terror" includes opposition, dissidents, comedians, teenagers on Facebook, or LGBT citizens.

2017, to put it simply was a year of horror for Egypt's LGBT community, especially after the Lebanese rock band Mashrou' Leila - whose lead singer is gay - played a concert in Cairo on 22 September. Images of a rainbow flag unfurled during the show spread across the internet, igniting the self-righteous fury of the intolerant establishment and fueling the mass arrests of at least 75 human beings who by the coincidence of their birth were born gay in Egypt. Many were subjected to anal probes to determine whether or not the men had anal sex, despite such probes having been scientifically debunked ages ago.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt, but in a dictatorship, what is truth? The Sisi regime uses an age old tactic in finding some other dubious law on the books and spinning events to fit that law. In this case, "debauchery" is the charge. One of the favorite tactics of so-called law enforcement is to set up sting operations through dating apps. Apparently, Egyptian police have nothing better to do than to play on Tinder and Grinder and seek out gay men for dates.

According to a November 2017 report by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, 232 Egyptians were arrested and prosecuted for sexualities or sexual practices, actual or perceived, from October 2013 to March 2017, many months prior to the flagwaving incident.

But let's not give Sisi all the credit for being the monster he is. Members of the Egyptian Parliament support the suppression tactics of the regime. More than 60 legislators have signed onto a bill that would criminalize homosexuality. In an Egypt that is mired in economic stagnation with no end in sight, this popular stance is a welcome diversion for the inept politicians. And with Sisi all but a shoo-in for this spring's presidential elections and the military controlling a third of the nation's economy, Egypt will see more of the same in 2018.

So what is one to do if he or she is LGBT in Egypt? Flee? To where? One small thing that can be done is protect yourself in your online communications with encryption. Egyptian law enforcement is actively watching for LGBT activity online, ready to raid at a moment's notice. So take care, Egyptians. Download our VPN and messenger apps for an added layer of protection. You have our support.

LGBT persecution: The case of Uganda

June holds many Pride events across the globe where it is permissible. In many places, it simply isn't. LGBT today continue to be one of the most persecuted minority groups on the planet. Even in places where rights have advanced significantly, like in the United States, LGBT persons continue to suffer both de facto and de jure persecution. Since the election of Donald Trump, homicides against LGBT are up 17%, excluding the horrific Pulse nightclub massacre that happened one year ago. Politicians continue to introduce laws designed to marginalize and discriminate against LGBT Americans and other places in the world.

When political leaders promote agendas of hate, there are real consequences. Take the situation in Uganda and the tragic death of human rights activist David Kato.


Life imprisonment for “carnal knowledge against the order of nature.” Seven years for “gross indecency.” In February 2014, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, broadening the criminalization of same-sex relations, which had already been illegal since British colonial rule. You didn’t have to be in Uganda to be punished – the law contained provisions for Ugandans to be extradited, should they be caught violating this law abroad. You didn’t even have to be gay, as the act included penalties for those who aided or abetted same-sex acts, whether the “aid” came from individuals, companies, or NGOs.

A February 2011 leak of US diplomatic cables revealed US concerns about the worsening human rights situation in Uganda and discussed a UN funded conference held in 2009 during which David Kato, considered the father of Uganda’s LGBT activism, gave an impassioned speed regarding the anti-LGBT atmosphere in his country. MP David Bahati followed with a tirade against homosexuality, which received massive applause.

Bahati, described in the US cables as a man whose homophobia is “blinding and incurable,” authored the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which originally called for LGBT Ugandans to be put to death. Uganda is not the only African country to criminalize homosexuality; thirty-eight of 53 African nations have laws on the books that punish homosexuality in some way. However, Uganda’s law was considered particularly severe, reflecting a climate in which an overwhelming majority of Ugandans disapprove of homosexuality and LGBT citizens suffer violence, vandalism, discrimination, and “correctional” rape.

And death.

On 26 January 2011, David Kato was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in his own home. Some weeks earlier, he had won a court case against a tabloid that had pictured Kato and another man on the cover with the headline, “Hang them.” The tabloid had been publishing lists of names and addresses of Ugandans who were rumored to be gay; it was responsible for some of the persecution as those identified in the lists were harassed, discriminated against, detained, and beaten. Kato and other activists had seen increased harassment since a high court judge granted a permanent injunction against the tabloid to prevent it from identifying gay people. 

While Kato paid the ultimate price for his fight to protect LBGT Ugandans from the scourge of bigotry and human rights advocates across the globe mourned his death, the environment did not improve. Three years later, the Anti-Homosexuality Act was signed into law. Uganda saw an immediate spike in human rights abuses following its enactment. Human rights group Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) published a report documenting 162 cases of persecution against LGBT Ugandans in May 2014 alone. LGBT Ugandans suffered violence at the hands of authorities and private citizens, evictions, employment termination, denial of health care, destruction of property, family banishment, and social stigma that continued well after the Constitutional Court of Uganda struck down the law in August 2014. The SMUG report, entitled, “And that’s how I survived being killed: Testimonies of human rights abuses from Uganda’s sexual and gender minorities,” found 264 cases of persecution from May 2014-December 2015.

Sadly, the Uganda situation hasn't improved. In fact, one has to wonder if the climate of hate that is spreading across the globe hasn't emboldened other would be LGBT killers in Uganda and elsewhere. Let us hope this is not the case.

In too many countries, to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender is to be stigmatized or even treated as criminal. LGBT individuals need online access to healthcare, social networks, support and advocacy, without the worry of a digital trail. SumRando VPN, Web Proxy, and Messenger allow these individuals to maintain their anonymity and security when accessing the internet and communicating online.

We want to help you survive.