This book is an introduction to the ever growing and complex world of electronic security. It is intended for human rights defenders and seeks to raise their level of knowledge about computers and the Internet. It also warns of different risks they may face in the digital environment and tells them how to deal with them. Alongside elements of theory, it offers possible solutions to some problems of computer and Internet security.

Digital technology plays a crucial role in the present-day activities and operations of international aid agencies. But it comes with a host of risks, from the threat of “cyber attacks” to the interception of communications, to the theft of digital information. Aid agencies and their staff are often not fully aware of risks or how to mitigate them, and little exists in terms of policy and operational procedures to help them do so.

Content and Censorship

The practice of censorship dates back thousands of years and has probably existed from the times when religious debate, political discourse and folklore first began. It can be found as early as the Old Testament – “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain” – and in Plato’s proposed ideal society in The Republic where officials would prohibit the telling of stories that were deemed detrimental. The term “censor” is derived from the Latin denoting a Roman magistrate who took censuses and oversaw public morals¹