How to secure your email and social media accounts, which communication systems and applications to use for better security of transmitted information, how to assess the level of risk to your organisation’s or your personal digital security – these are just some of the topics and information that need to be constantly updated in this digital age.

In mid-August, the Legal Resources Centre from Moldova (LRCM) organised an online training session for around 30 civil society representatives and human rights defenders. With the help of an international expert, the training participants got essential tools and tips on digital security and safe keeping of personal data. Together, they analysed the risk matrix to understand how likely it is that the organisation or someone in the team could face hacking attacks on the website or social media pages, and what the effects of such situations would be.

The training session is part of the training programme for human rights defenders and representatives of the associative environment, within the project “Shields for Human Rights Defenders – Supporting Human Rights Defenders in the Republic of Moldovaˮ, implemented by the LRCM in partnership with EcoContact Association and the International Commission of Jurists – European Institutions, with the financial support of the European Union.

In order to make the training more interactive, the international expert proposed to the participants some short online surveys, through which they expressed their opinions about the need to conduct a digital security audit in NGOs and the categories of objects that need to be protected, e.g. servers, business correspondence, electronic documents, etc. The main lesson that the participants left the training with is that it is important to limit the number of places where information requiring digital protection is stored, so that the organisation’s resources can also be used efficiently in case of a cyber attack.

In the coming months, civil society representatives and human rights defenders will be able to receive individual assistance on digital security as part of the same project. The LRCM will facilitate several sessions in a 1-to-1 format between the international expert and the organisation or individual seeking support and guidance to avoid problems such as cyber attacks or data loss. The programme aims to make civil society better prepared to face digital security threats and challenges that can negatively affect NGO work, communication, and collaboration.