As the ‘phone hacking’ news wave reaches far and wide, not much
attention is paid to the methods used by hackers – nor are there
precautions for readers worried about the privacy of their mobile
communications, bank accounts and other private data.
“Excuse me, can I ask you a question?” I hear all the time these days. As soon as the LED light begins to flash and clouds of smoke-like vapour fill the air around me, an interested somebody comes over to enquire. Is that a real cigarette?
It has finally arrived! I am handed a slightly torn and dishevelled package labelled ‘aromatherapy’ at the post office and begin the joyous trip home. Swinging it as I walk the snowy streets, a small hole opens up and plastic cartridges begin to fall out. I rush to pick them up, looking furtively round. This isn’t exactly legal in my country. These cartridges hold a newly found alternative to my fifteen year-old addiction. I’ve been waiting for them impatiently.
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.
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