This update will tell you about what’s coming up and what we’ve been doing; some amazing work that has caught our eye and finally we’ll take a really important cyber second of your time (the amount of time it takes to read 139 words apparently) to wrap up. This includes really, really important security information. All in one minute – if you read really, really fast.
What’s coming up
Over the next few weeks we’ll be providing up to 150 funded places to provide training to media workers and human rights defenders in Myanmar. We’ll also be running really exciting collaborative training projects in Iraq and the UK!
We are crafting the content of a new app. We want to build something that can cue the recall of key first aid and security skills on the go. Let us know what you would want to see included in the training update app of your dreams and we’ll see what we can do!
And what we have been doing
Over the past 6 months we had the greatest volume of users we’ve ever seen. Our training has been used in locations as diverse as Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Cambodia and South Sudan. Our greatest user base is the UK, where the shift to blending online and in person learning continues to gain momentum for professional organisations across multiple sectors. A real highlight has been a collaborative project providing 50 fully funded training places to Arabic speaking journalists across the Middle East.
Elsewhere we have been supporting NGO’s and individuals as the situation changes so swiftly in Afghanistan and visited New York’s Photoville, virtually, helping to deliver 30 one-to-one safety sessions benefiting freelancers from Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Uruguay, Hong Kong, Slovakia, Portugal, Spain, Venezuela and the US. Huge thanks to the other security experts, ACOS Alliance, Committee to Protect Journalists, Frontline Freelance Register and of course Photoville for doing a wonderful job of putting it all together.
Stare and Listen
One body of work that has really stood out to us has been from Sacca Photo. The work featured on here is beautiful and insightful visual storytelling from Myanmar. It is sublime.
Some of you will have started work in Afghanistan again, whilst concurrently trying to safeguard those you care about and work with. What a difficult and amazing task. For analysis really worth reading, check out Afghan Analysts Networkand Lyse Doucet’s BBC podcast series is well worth a listen to give a sense of what people hope for in the future.
A Cyber Second
For anyone working with organisations in Myanmar, we caution that it is likely that Pegasus spyware is being used to target NGO’s and media workers.There is a history of spyware being used in the region, and we’ve received reports indicating Pegasus has been detected.
Facebook says Pakistani hackers set up a fake Android app store to target individuals connected to the former Afghan government, both before and after it was ousted by the Taliban.
A new modem in iPhone 13s will support satellite text messages. Earlier reports of satellite voice calls proved groundless (as expected), but the support for communication with Low Earth Orbit satellites could provide a valuable emergency tool for those working in remote and austere environments – without the need for an additional device and the impact this can have on your security profile.
We are here to help with all things cyber and info sec, so do get in touch if we can help you out.