Another message lands in the email with an attachment and a task: print, sign, scan and send back. Who wouldn't know this? Even though we live in the digital age, we still can't get rid of the paper shackles.

Although cyber security is not a new concept, discussed both publicly and in everyday life, its meaning has changed over time. Nowadays, the concept of cyber security covers an increasingly wide range of areas and is becoming more and more important, at a national and personal level. This is due to the rapid and all-encompassing development of new technologies, which are bringing many areas of life, including personal life, into the cyberspace.

Did you know that the first password as we know it today was used over sixty years ago? Passwords are an essential security feature and are therefore often the target of various Internet fraudsters. Although passwords are a traditional part of cybersecurity training, many users don't take very good care of them. As a result, they may lose their accounts or finances. And since we carry bad habits into the work environment as well, when combined with poor security policies, sensitive client data or an organization's reputation can be at risk. In this article, we'll go over some tips on how to take care of your passwords so that you can feel more secure and simplify your work at the same time.

In this video series we focus on debunking common cybersecurity myths. These myths often do stem from real-world examples, but have been exaggerated or simply outdated due to the rapid growth of technology in the past several decades. Yet, some myths remain extremely resilient and many people still use them as colloquialisms!

We are living in times when there is much more information gathered, structured, created, and shared than ever before. Even the most cautious of us can fall for a fake ad. Today, technologies, social media and artificial intelligence tools can bring positive change to individuals and communities, but they can also destroy them. How can people protect themselves from misleading content? This series of four articles, produced in cooperation with the Baltic Media Centre of Excellence, will remind you of the basics of media literacy skills that you cannot do without in the digital environment.

The field of social media is constantly changing. We observe them both as users, but also as citizens. Social media platforms are a tool for influencing consumer and civic decisions. We invited Katarzyna Szymielewicz (Panoptykon), a lawyer specializing in human rights and technology, to discuss how large platforms work, how they affect the functioning of individuals and groups, and what changes we can observe in the near future.

Anastasiia Apetyk is a lawyer and expert on information rights and digital security. Since 2017, she has been researching security issues at the community level, problems of information and digital rights, data protection, and digital security at the Expert Centre for Human Rights in Kyiv, Ukraine. She advises on and develops training programmes in the field of digital rights and digital security for executive authorities and local government.

The number of online purchases by Macedonian citizens is increasing, and concurrently, scams targeting citizens shopping on virtual stores are proliferating. To avoid "emptying" credit cards through scams, there are several recommendations that we, as citizens, should follow when making our online purchases.

Klaudia is the co-founder of Vidoc Security Lab, an Application Security Expert with years of experience. Her dedication to security research led to the creation of Vidoc, a platform for security professionals, gaining global recognition by discovering hundreds of vulnerabilities through bug bounty programs with prominent tech giants.

Beyond spearheading the startup, Klaudia actively engages with NGOs and the tech community, sharing knowledge and empowering human rights activists across Central and Eastern Europe.

Is your favorite messaging app secure? Does it offer encryption, or features like “hidden” chat, or “secret” chat? Or maybe you are not too worried about using secure messaging, because, who needs it anyway.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a vital role in society, serving various causes and providing essential services. However, like any other entity operating in the digital age, CSOs are not immune to cyber threats. In fact, these organisations can be attractive targets for cybercriminals due to the valuable data they possess and their potentially limited cybersecurity resources.

The internet has taken the globe by storm for the past 30 years, and it’s almost impossible to imagine the world without it. Digital privacy can be at risk without the proper online precautions in place.

Vacationing? Keep your devices safe abroad!

Welcome to the "Expert Tips on Online Security and Privacy series" vol. 1

Close friends and family have a very important role to play when it comes to our digital privacy and security. Since most of us regularly communicate with those close to us using digital tools and channels, and we are not ready to give up those modes of communication, we must be aware of our increased exposure when using them.

Traditionally, at the beginning of each year, large companies and organizations share with the public their opinions and predictions for the new year in the context of digital security. Looking back, 2022 was marked by a series of major events in the digital world, some of which will definitely leave a mark in the years (even decades) to come.

In this webinar, hosted by the West Africa Civil Society Institute, we sought to increase knowledge sharing on digital security and resilience.

Learn about the basics that will help you understand the risks you are exposed to when using the Internet.

This space will teach you to recognize the characteristics of the threats and attacks called social engineering so that you can have information on how to avoid them.

We will navigate the characteristics and experience that the use of the Internet has left us as human beings and understand what we leave on the Internet.

The use of links and hyperlinks have made email correspondences easier in our corporate world. But do you know that a simple click on a link in a spam message can jeopardise an entire organisation’s email network? Although emails continue to be a widely used platform for professional communication, a lot of email users lack basic knowledge on how to use email safely.

Baby faces covered in chocolate, baby feet splashing in the water, cheeks soaked in crocodile tears. As we read the list, we might think of a post or story from social media that we sometimes encounter in the online space. But is it safe to share not only your personal information, but also that of a child who is in our care? What does it mean to be a responsible digital parent?

Phishing is among the biggest cyber threats facing organizations. According to Proofpoint’s 2021 State of the Phish Report, more than 80% of organizations fell victim to a phishing attack last year.

Smartphones are the most widely used electronic devices in our daily lives. Once upon a time, we used our cellphones only to call someone or send an important text message. These days, they have become more akin to portable computers. With a bundle of features, social networking, and time-saving apps, smartphones have become an essential part of our daily routine. Whether you are organizing your work schedule, hitting on someone on Tinder, ordering Chinese, or keeping track of your fitness regime, a secure cell phone provides peace of mind that your personal data will not end up in the hands of those who could use it to do you harm.

What is digital security, and should civil society organisations in Africa be concerned?

Passwords are the key to nearly everything you do online, and you presumably have multiple passwords that you use throughout the day. Choosing hard-to-hack phrases and managing them securely can occasionally feel inconvenient. Fortunately, there are simple ways to make your passwords as secure as possible. Doing so can keep hackers from taking over your accounts and prevent theft of your data.

Elena Stojanovska is true believer that privacy protection is a culture, a way of recognition and respect of a human right. Her experience dates from the times when privacy was a mysterious concept in North Macedonia (2005), until now, when everyone is buzzing around new ways of protecting privacy. Elena worked for the Agency for Data Protection as an Advisor for International Cooperation, she was the human rights on-line specialist at the Metamorphosis Foundation and from February 2020 has really busy days in implementing the new Law on Personal Data Protection in the business sector.

If you run a campaign or simply post on your social media channels messages about the current situation, you should anticipate some hateful comments. There are certain ways to deal with trolls.

A user's digital footprint is the set of data that the user leaves behind about him or herself in the digital world. Intentionally or unknowingly, every day we create and leave a lot of data in the digital space that gives us a picture of who we are, what we do, where we are in the digital world and why we do it.

Phishing is a serious threat in our modern world, and there is no knowledge passed down from generation to generation of how to prevent it. This knowledge we have to acquire ourselves so that we can pass it on to the next generation. The number of hacking and phishing attempts has been increasing from year to year, in direct proportion to the fact that more and more activities in our lives are moving to the online space – from work to having fun and to shopping.

AC-LAC is a platform that promotes and defends encryption and fosters capacities and knowledge in citizens to maintain an ecosystem of trust, security, and stability [of ICTs] in the region.

Considering the boom in biometric technology in the region, in this blog written by Jamila Venturini, J. Carlos Lara And Patricio Velasco from Digital Rights, we review the study published by the Al Sur consortium “Facial recognition in Latin America: trends in the implementation of perverse technology”, an investigation that identifies 38 facial recognition systems developed in the region.

The following article, written by Vladimir Garay of “Derechos Digitales”, talks about the implications of a facial recognition system in Chile for mass surveillance and the fight against common crimes.

This article is the result of a 2021 MozFest workshop co-facilitated by Laura Vidal (Mozilla), Marielos Galindo (Red Concausa), Natalia Trigoso (Causas Digitales) and Soledad Magnone (JAAKLAC iniciativa). The activity aimed at exploring the possibilities of digital education practices to amplify the participation in data protection/privacy policies.

The state of cyber-security in North Macedonia: interview series

This article is a production of Ciudadania Inteligente (Ciudadania AI), a Latin American, inclusive and feminist organization that fights for social justice and for the transformation of democracies.

ESI Digital from JAAKLAC aims to promote Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE, ESI for its Spanish acronym) in relation to digital technologies to minimize online sexual risks among adolescents. The guide covers topics such as sexual and reproductive rights, digital education, internet risks in adolescence and digital safety strategies.

Most often when we notice media articles about a hacking incident, it is usually because the target (or a victim) is a larger, more well-known company to the public. When Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc. are victims of a cyber-incident, and the media are naturally interested in the topic, and thus inform the public. However, almost regardless of the magnitude and sophistication of such attacks on well-established companies and organizations, they are almost always "resolved", i.e., they have their own beginning, course, and end, or resolution. The resolution is not always "positive" for the company institution: sometimes victims pay huge sums of money (usually in cryptocurrencies) to attackers in order to get their data back.

Many of us (if not all) usually lock the front door of our home, even when we go out to a nearby shop or café. Especially, if we live in a building with more tenants, or our home is facing a busy street - sometimes we even make sure our windows are closed as well! It is clear and unambiguous why we are doing this - we are concerned for our safety, and we do not want anyone (without our explicit permission) to enter our home!

In other words, our sense of security is important to us when it comes to our immediate physical environment - the privacy of our own home.

Cybercrime is an act against the law. It is not a highly complex act directed at specific organizations or institutions and It is more common and closer than we think. Social Engineering is the main technique used by cybercriminals to attack a greater number of people.

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the fact just how important basic, daily hygiene habits are in our daily lives, and how much can they protect us from billions of bacteria and viruses. Did you know that perhaps this very behaviour has probably “saved us” in the past while we were exposed to a viral pathogen, maybe even COVID19?

According to the "Digital 2021"1 report, at the turn of the year 2020 and 2021, more than half of the 7.83 billion people in the world were described as "mobile phone users", and 59.5% (4.66 billion) of the population – were stated to use the Internet. The vast majority of them use Social Media

(4.2 billion people)...

According to the "Digital 2021" report, at the turn of the year 2020 and 2021, more than half of the 7.83 billion people in the world were described as "mobile phone users", and 59.5% (4.66 billion) of the population – were stated to use the Internet. Most of them use the Social Media (4.2 billion people).

This podcast episode brings together Anna Chęć and "Klara", who is a TechSoup Europe trainer from Poland, a security researcher, a hacktivist, currently working as a software security engineer for a financial institution. In this episode you can listen to what are some of the key threats once you buy a smartphone and why it is important to secure it well.

In this episode of our “Let’s Talk Digital Resilience!” podcast series, we’ll be joined by Anna Chęć, talking to "Klara" (a real-deal hactivist), who are both TechSoup Europe trainers on Digital Safety & Security.