Articles

European authorities this month launched a coordinated action against hundreds of suspects accused of running a massive investment fraud network that was exposed by OCCRP in a 2020 investigation, Eurojust and Europol announced.

Police and prosecutors from Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, North Macedonia, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine worked together on an “unprecedented” cross-border investigation that culminated in the arrests of five suspects and confiscation of hundreds of thousands of euros’ worth of cash, as well as cryptocurrency wallets, properties, and bank accounts, according to Eurojust.

Virtual Private Network

Beginners Guide to VPNs (Lifehacker)

In the new series Getting It, they’ll give you all you need to know to get started with and excel at a wide range of technology, both on and offline. Here, they are arming you with everything you need to know to understand and use virtual private networks.

Choosing the best VPN (Cloudflare)

A virtual private network (VPN) is an internet security service that allows users to access the Internet as though they were connected to a private network. This encrypts Internet communications as well as providing a strong degree of anonymity. Some of the most common reasons people use VPNs are to protect against snooping on public WiFi, to circumvent Internet censorship, or to connect to a business’s internal network for the purpose of remote work.

We Live Security – Cybersecurity for journalists and the news media - Stephen Cobb

In journalism, having good contacts is key and this is true when it comes to defending your digital assets. The following are some sources – of information and, possibly, assistance – that you might want to cultivate.

Cybercrime and other forms of “cyber-badness” affect different professions in different ways. Recently the author participated in a panel about the cybersecurity concerns of journalists and the news media, hosted by the Inter America Press Association (IAPA). An account of the panel was published on WeLiveSecurity last month but in this article he wants to pass along some of the notes he made in preparation for that event. These include websites and resources that journalists and news media might find helpful when thinking about their cybersecurity.

Tactical Technology Collective (Tactical Tech)

Young people grow up in an environment that is increasingly driven by and dependent upon digital technologies. Their social, learning and play spaces are being encroached upon by ubiquitous technologies so that the divide between public and private, online and offline is being eroded. At a time of crucial development this leaves them exposed to a unique set of challenges, such as tech habit and addiction, information pollution, algorithms and discrimination and data surveillance.

Tactical Tech's youth initiative seeks to define and address these challenges alongside young people and those that support them. Through research, educational curricula and creative interventions, we will work towards increasing the data literacy of the next generation so that they can think critically and proactively about the digital environment they want to live in now and in the future.

Countering Violent Extremism through Media and Communications Strategies (Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research)

A new report commissioned by the Partnership sheds light on how far media and communications can help to counter violent extremism from groups such as the so-called Islamic State.

The report challenges claims that the “counter-narrative” approach to tackling violent extremism is working, and suggests that alternative media strategies could be effective, as long as information providers have trust and credibility.

Christchurch Call to Eliminate Violent and Extremist Content Online (Governments of France and New Zealand)

On 15 March 2019, people looked on in horror as, for 17 minutes, a terrorist attack against two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, was live streamed. 51 people were killed and 50 injured and the live stream was viewed some 4,000 times before being removed.

This terrorist attack made clear once again the harms that can be caused by terrorist and violent extremist content online, a threat that continues to evolve. The attack was livestreamed, went viral and remains available on the web despite the measures taken to remove it.

Civil Society Positions on the Christchurch Call Pledge

This document includes civil society, academia, and technical community perspectives regarding terrorist and violent extremist content online. The document was prepared for the Civil Society leaders’ Voices for Action meeting (14 May 2019) with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to discuss the Christchurch Call by an open call for input and coordination by some of those attending that meeting in Paris, France.

The document was created with input from dozens of members of civil society, including some who were in attendance on 14 May and some who were not. A non-exhaustive list of those individuals is at the bottom of this document.

GFMD Statement on the Christchurch Call and Countering Violent Extremism Online

The idea of formulating a set of ethical do-no-harm and best practice principles to guide companies and individuals working on preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) and counter-terrorism agendas reflects the understandable development within government policy and regulation that aims to satisfy public frustration and anger, while also addressing the role of the private sector, specifically Internet platforms, journalists, and the news media. Indeed, the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)1 acknowledges these actors have a significant role to play in P/CVE; however, the tools related to this approach have proven to be tempting for governments to use with few counter-measures or checks and balances in place to curb abuse or ensure the ethical implementation of P/CVE policies.

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