Global Voices Advocacy » Hisham Almiraat

Cyber Attack on Pakistan's Electoral Commission Website

Hisham Almiraat — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:55:45 +0000

The website of Pakistan's Electoral Commission was reportedly defaced on Friday, March 29, 2013. According to local news website The Express Tribune, ”[an Indian hacker] defaced the home page and has possibly compromised its availability to visitors.” It is not clear what led the website to identify the nationality of the attacker.

The Electoral Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent body tasked with supervising general elections this year, which will take place on May 11.

Polling place in Lahore, Pakistan, 2008. Photo by boellstiftung. (CC BY-SA 2.0)

On Saturday, as the attack entered its second day, the Electoral Commission decided to shift its website to another server. Sources from the ECP told Geo News that all election-related data was secure despite the attack.

As of mid-day Saturday, March 30, the website was accessible in Pakistan but connection to it remained slow according to a user in-country who was contacted by Global Voices Advocacy.

Asked about the nature of the attack against the ECP website, a cyber expert told The Express Tribune that it may be linked to the Spamhaus attack, the largest Distributed Denial of Service (or DDoS) attack to date that has targeted major data exchanges around the world slowing traffic in Europe and North America.

Oman: Online Activists Freed

Hisham Almiraat — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:46:36 +0000

On March 21, the Sultan of Oman issued a pardon for online activists and writers imprisoned after being convicted of insulting the ruler, committing “information technology crimes,” and taking part in unauthorized protests. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said has ruled the Gulf state since 1970.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, ”information technology crimes” included “comments about the Sultan made on Facebook pages and blogs.” The release of the activists was confirmed [PDF] on March 22 by Amnesty International.

Sultan Qaboos and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Photo by Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison, U.S. Air Force. This image is in the public domain.

The move, which came as a surprise to most observers, runs counter to increasing attacks against online freedom of expression in the region. At least 50 Omani activists and writers were arrested in a police crackdown conducted between late May and early June 2012. They were convicted on charges such as insulting the nation's ruler, using the internet to publish defamatory material “under the pretense of freedom of expression,” and publishing harmful and provocative material in the media or on social networks.

“We are delighted that dozens of prisoners of conscience [...] are back at liberty and able to rejoin their families and friends,” a member of Amnesty International's MENA program said, adding that individuals exercising their right to freedom of expression should not have been imprisoned in the first place.

While describing the decision as a positive step, rights organizations are urging Oman to lift repressive laws and restrictions on freedom of expression.

#DELETECONTROL/: Campaign Against Digital Repression

Hisham Almiraat — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:45:06 +0000

The time when governments were only starting to understand the power of the Internet is long gone. Repressive regimes have seen the power of the Internet to bring about change and they are trying to control it by developing sophisticated censorship and surveillance tactics, often working hand-in-hand with private companies.

Fortunately, ways to counter online repression and control do exist.

The Netherlands-based Humanist Institute for Cooperation, Hivos, in partnership with Global Voices Advocacy, Witness, Mideast Youth and Tactical Technology Collective, is launching a campaign called #DELETECONTROL/.

The campaign aims to promote tools against censorship, online surveillance and repression to ”help bloggers [...] stay under the radar and be safe online.” It also aims to create a supportive environment for threatened netizens through donations, by organizing trainings, creating free online platforms and the development of new solutions against digital repression.

One of the major vehicles of the campaign is an interactive film produced by Godmother Films, entitled “#DELETECONTROL/ Would you dare to upload the truth?”. The video walks us though the most common threats faced by digital activists in a repressive environment and offers simple solutions to avoid being caught.

Please support the campaign by sharing the video and by spreading the word.

Venezuela: Home of Twitter User Raided

Hisham Almiraat — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 02:58:08 +0000

The home of Twitter user Federico Medina Ravell, who's allegedly behind the account @LucioQuincioC, was raided on Sunday, January 6, by Venezuelan intelligence officers. The micro-blogger, a cousin of a prominent opposition journalist, is suspected of spreading rumors about the health of Mr Hugo Chávez. The Venezuelan president didn't appear in public since he flew to Havana, Cuba, for cancer surgery early on December, fueling speculations about whether he will be able to attend the swearing-in ceremony of his new term scheduled for 10 January 2013.

According to Noticias 24, Medina, who was not present at his home during the raid, is accused of “instigating terrorism through social networking sites.” The account @LucioQuincioC remains active and has posted claims that Chávez will not return from Cuba. News of post-surgery complications have fueled rumors on social networks about the state of Mr Chavez's health. Something that commentators on pro-government media in Venezuela have interpreted as an “information war”.

“This is an information war. All through the Bolivarian revolution you have seen this sustained information war. Twitter and the social networks are just extensions of this war,” comments a journalist on Cubadebate, a pro-Chavez website.

10 New Year's Resolutions to Browse the Internet Safely in 2013

Hisham Almiraat — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:35:41 +0000

At Global Voices Advocacy (GVA), we are dedicated to defending freedom of expression online. We have always been keen on publishing guides and tools to help our fellow netizens navigate the internet safely, circumvent censorship and protect themselves online.

That is why, in 2013, we are committed to continue to defend your rights as netizens by publishing original reports and a new series of guides covering areas as diverse as circumvention, anonymity, surveillance, privacy, citizen journalism, visualization, online activism and advocacy.

As 2012 draws to a close, dear reader, here at team Advox, we've decided to suggest 10 resolutions for 2013, presented in the form of a review of the tools and strategies to protect yourself online. This is a selection of the best ways and methods we've come across in 2012. Remember that no one tactic will ever provide you with 100% security and safety online. At all times, stay armed with your common sense.

#1 – Hide your identity when using your mobile

Whether you're a company wishing to monitor the browsing habits of your potential customers or a repressive government obsessed with tracking dissidents online, mobile devices have been created for you. No technology has come so close to achieving Orwell's dystopian nightmare. Yet there are many ways to help users browse the Internet with their mobile devices in a smarter and safer way:

Orbot is a free, open source Android application that uses Tor's worldwide network of servers to conceal user's location and identity. The application was developed by Tor and The Guardian Project.

#2 – Learn good mobile reporting practices

Whether you're a professional journalist or a citizen media producer you might want to take a look at “Media Workers’ Toolkit for Safer Online and Mobile Practices“. This comprehensive guide, produced by Internews, a non-profit organization working to empower local media worldwide, offers good advice for media producers on how to protect themselves and their sources while using their mobile devices.

#3 – Stay anonymous online

Keep websites and governments from tracking you online, use Tor. Tor is a popular free browser that uses a global volunteer network of servers that helps you surf the internet securely while concealing your location from network surveillance and traffic analysis. Tor can also be downloaded onto a USB drive and used from any computer.

#4 – Remember the basics

It's always a good idea to remind ourselves of some basic online safety rules. Google offers a set of useful tips for staying more secure on the web.

http://youtu.be/o5wC826_Z18

Speaking of basics, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) Surveillance Self Defense page remains a must-read for those of us willing to know more about the fundamentals of defensive technologies such as encryption, secure deletion or virtual private networks.

#5 – Think ahead of trouble

If you're a blogger, especially if you live in a repressive environment, think of a contingency plan in the event of an arrest. GVA's own Jillian C. York offers a number of tips and premeditated actions for threatened bloggers in this article she wrote for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

#6 – Browse like James Bond… Don't leave a trace

Lifehacker walks us though how to use a portable Linux-based, live-boot operating system called Tails, to browse the internet from any computer “without leaving a trace.” The tactic is not completely infallible, but nothing ever is, isn't it?

#7 – Protect your privacy, stop online tracking

Your browsing habits say much about you. Most websites and online advertisers know it very well and use invisible tracking techniques to record personal information about you.

EFF offers an quick 4-step guide that will allow you to stop unwanted privacy invasion.

You may also want to use DuckDuckGo, an alternative search engine that, unlike Google, does not record user information.

#8 – Protect your data

Protect your sensitive data by using a hard disk encryption software like Truecrypt. Use it on every computer you own. Trucrypt is an easy-to-use, lightweight and intuitive freeware that can encrypt parts or your entire storage device. It is particularly useful for protecting and hiding your sensitive files, especially when travelling and crossing borders.

This Wikipedia article offers additional information on alternative disk encryption software and their system compatibility.

#9 – Destroy undesirable data

Deleted files may easily be recovered by interested parties. Make sure your sensitive data is not available to others by using data erasure software. One of the most popular of such tools is Eraser, a freeware available for Windows. It destroys undesirable data by overwriting it several times.

#10 – Commit to defeating censorship

Because the internet's original purpose is to allow people to communicate freely, without governments or corporations interfering, it is essential that we, netizens, learn about ways to make life difficult for the enemies of freedom of expression.

Floss Manuals, a Netherlands-based non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting the use of free software, published a comprehensive book earlier this year called “How To Bypass Internet Censorship” [PDF, 240 pages, 12 MB]. The book contains a diverse range of tools and techniques tailored to defeat censorship. It also assesses the risks associated with the use of each tool. A lightweight “Quickstart” version is also available here [PDF, 8 pages, 268 KB].

* * *

- Tactical Technology Collective's Security In A Box: A comprehensive set of digital security tools tailored for activists. Available in multiple languages.

- Access’ “A Practical Guide to Protecting Your Identity and Security Online and When Using Mobile Phones“. Also available in multiple languages.

Thanks to the Global Voices Advocacy community for helping put together the resources available in this post.

Bahrain: Tweet Leads Human Rights Activist to Prison

Hisham Almiraat — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 02:49:37 +0000

Sayed Yousif Almuhafda is the Vice President and Head of the Documentation Unit at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). He is also a member of rights groups Front Line Defenders and Amnesty International. He was arrested on December 17th as he was monitoring a non violent demonstration in the capital Manama and reporting about it on Twitter.

Sayed Yousif was charged with spreading false information on his Twitter account. He is being especially accused, among other things, of posting a photo (link contains graphic content, reader discretion is advised) on Twitter on December 17, of an injured young demonstrator actually taken two days earlier.

In a letter sent to Global Voices Advocacy, Sayed Yousif's family says that while he is in good spirit, he believes that his arrest is politically motivated—an attempt to stop him from doing his job as a human rights observer:

Sayed Yousif believes that he was unnecessarily taken [by the police] while performing his job of observing a march in Bahrain [...] For such charge he should not be kidnapped by police in civil clothes during the protest and be surrounded by at least 30 riot police. He says that they could have sent him an official request to show in front of a public prosecutor and spare him the jail.

Sayed Yousif believes that his detention is a pure revenge for his job of exposing human rights violations during peaceful protests and he feels that it is a message to him to stop reporting the violations in Bahrain.

On December 25, Sayed Yousif appeared before the prosecutor-general in Manama who decided to extend his detention for 15 additional days. A decision condemned by freedom of speech advocates like media watchdog Reporters Without Borders who posted the following statement:

Muhafda is yet again paying for his commitment to the circulation of information about human rights violations in Bahrain [...] The authorities must stop their repeated violations of freedom of information and allow news providers to operate freely.
The information provided by Bahrain’s human rights activists is all the more important as the authorities limit visits by foreign journalists and often obstruct the reporting of those who are allowed in.

This isn't the first time Sayed Yousif is arrested for his reporting of human rights abuses in Bahrain. On November 2, 2012, he was detained for 12 days after covering a violent police crackdown on a demonstration in Diraz, west of Manama.

#FreeSaidYousif campaign poster, posted on Twitter by @OsamaJaleel

Sayed Yousif was last visited on December 25 in the Hoora police station, in the northeastern suburb of Manama. According to his family, he is being isolated from other political prisoners, put in a cell along with non-Arabic speaking common-law prisoners.

In a message sent to Global Voices Advocacy, his brother Sayed Osama Almuhafda (@OsamaJaleel) writes:

This is another form of punishment to him. He has no one to communicate with.
All other freedom of speech and political prisoners are kept together in the “Dry Dock” prison [the Ministry of Interior’s Short-Term Detention Unit in Manama], except for Sayed Yousif. We believe that his case is totally cruel and unjustified!

Sayed Yousif's family calls upon all human rights’ advocates to put pressure on the Bahrain government in order to make sure he gets a fair trial and a treatment equal to that of all other freedom of speech prisoners.

Ways you can help

You can follow Sayed Yousif's Twitter account, @saidyousif, or tweet under the hashtag #FreeSaidYousif and show your support.

You can also reach out to the media and human rights organizations and tell Sayed Yousif's story to the world.

What Happened at the WCIT-12: Interview With Beatriz Busaniche

Hisham Almiraat — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 00:11:10 +0000

The World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), a UN-sponsored meeting, has just ended in Dubai, UAE. After two weeks of intense negotiations, mostly behind closed doors, representatives failed to agree on a proposed ITU treaty, supported by Russia and China, and that would give national governments more control over the internet.

The ITU is a UN body responsible for standardizing telecommunications protocols around the world.

The conference raised a lot of controversy among online freedom of speech advocates who have been calling for a multistakeholder approach, accusing the ITU of deliberately pushing civil society groups aside.

Why has the conference attracted so much interest? How significant is it for the future of internet use?

We talked to Beatriz Busaniche, member of Fundacion Via Libre and the founding member of Wikimedia Argentina. She explains what was at stake at the WCIT and why netizens should care.

Speak Justice: Voices Against Impunity

Hisham Almiraat — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:42:31 +0000

On November 23, 2009, 58 people, including 30 journalists were kidnapped and brutally killed while they were travelling in a convoy with the supporters of a local politician. It happened in the southern Maguindanao province, in the Philippines. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) it is the single deadliest event for journalists in history.

In memory of the Maguindanao massacre, this year on November 23, human rights groups and freedom of expression advocates have joined forces for the second International Day to End Impunity, an annual reminder of the dangers still facing journalists today.

Murder: the ultimate form of censorship

As part of that effort Global Voices Advocacy is joining CPJ's Speak Justice: Voices against Impunity.

The online campaign, which starts today, aims to raise awareness against impunity for those responsible of murdering journalists.

Worldwide, a CPJ report has shown that since 1992, more than 660 journalists have been murdered “in direct retaliation against their work.” Most of them were killed while covering issues of vital importance to their communities.

The research has also shown a clear pattern of impunity among perpetrators, with only 1 in 10 behind bars.

CPJ's María Salazar-Ferro, the campaign coordinator, explains that as a consequence, most journalists living in countries where the murder of their colleagues remains unpunished, tend to self censor: “They avoid dangerous beats, and ignore risky stories.”

Leaving stories unreported means depriving communities of the right to information and leaving those in power unchallenged. Impunity ultimately affects everyone.

To demand justice for journalists killed for uncovering the truth and to empower those still risking their lives to do their job, the campaign wishes to break the cycle of fear and silence, ”from the ground up, one voice at a time.”

To find out more about the campaign, visit the site here and take action today!

Azerbaijan: “A Country that Portrays Social-Networkers as Mentally Ill”

Hisham Almiraat — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:02:54 +0000

While all eyes were on the presidential election in the United States, a major international conference started on Tuesday in Baku, the capital of the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. The 7th United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) claims to bring “all stakeholders” as equal partners to discuss major issues relating not only to the future of the Internet but also to matters of policing, management, and of course, freedom of expression online.

The choice of Baku to host the event has been controversial all along. Azerbaijan is hardly known for its respect of human rights.

According to Human Rights Watch, there are currently at least eight journalists and three human rights defenders behind bars in Azerbaijan. Authorities have banned all unsanctioned peaceful public assemblies in central Baku or anywhere else in the country.

Emin Milli, a prominent Azerbaijani blogger and youth activist, highlighted the problems facing Internet users and political activists in his country when he published an open letter to President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday, November 6, challenging the authorities’ claims that the Internet was free. He writes:

As someone who was jailed for using the internet to criticize you and your policies, I have experienced an inconvenient truth – the internet is not free in Azerbaijan and it is definitely not free from fear.

On Tuesday, a consortium of Azerbaijani human rights organizations, the Expression Online Initiative, published an open letter voicing concerns over “violations of UN main principles” that the group says are taking place during the UN-sponsored gathering. The group claims that the IGF Secretariat, a body responsible for organizing the event and accrediting participants, refused its requests to have a booth at the IGF village. According to the letter, the restrictions went even further:

[T]he Secretariat tried to prevent distribution of the Expression Online Initiative’s reports Searching for Freedom: Online Expression in Azerbaijan and The Right to Remain Silent: Freedom of Expression in Azerbaijan ahead of the 7th Internet Governance Forum. The IGF coordinator told our representatives “You are not allowed to distribute these reports within IGF premises.” Our attempt to distribute these reports, which examine issues in Azerbaijan which are directly relevant to the IGF, were perceived by the Secretariat as an attempt to “attack one of the stakeholder group,” i.e. the Azerbaijani government.

Expression Online Initiative also says that the registration desk repeatedly asked one of their representatives whether he was planning to stage a protest at the event and eventually handed over his ID card to local authorities.

To draw attention to the problems faced by Internet users in Azerbaijan, Amnesty International, is publishing a brief which documents several key cases where people have been persecuted for their online activities. “There is a deep irony to holding an international forum on internet governance in Azerbaijan,” the organisation’s Azerbaijan campaigner is quoted saying. He adds, “This is a country where the government intercepts individuals’ correspondence at a whim, imprisons bloggers, and portrays social-networkers as mentally ill.”

On Tuesday, prior to the official opening of the conference, IGF Watch reported that Indonesian civil society organisation ICT Watch was prevented from distributing postcards that read “Government Censorship: Protecting You From Reality.”

A UN official removed the postcards, according to IGF Watch, on the basis that they might upset certain governments. The website reports that the IGF Secretariat later retracted the statement, claiming that the removal of the postcards were merely due to advertising and accreditation issues.

A number of civil society organisations present in Baku are putting together a statement asking the IGF secretariat for clarifications on the incident, which they describe as “highly objectionable” and “completely unacceptable.”

This is not the first time that the host country of an IGF conference has raised controversy. It was the case when the IGF’s mandate was first established in Ben Ali’s Tunisia in 2005. It was also the case in Mubarak's Egypt in 2006. Both leaders thought they could harness the emancipating power of the Internet while painting an image of openness to the outside world. They both failed. Should President Aliyev be worried? Only time can tell.

Azerbaijan: Open Letter to President Aliyev Ahead of International Governance Forum in Baku

Hisham Almiraat — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:07:33 +0000

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a UN-sponsored conference which aims to “bring[ ] together all stakeholders in the internet governance debate.” This year it is held in Baku, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan where, starting on Tuesday, government officials, representatives of the private sector, the civil society and academia are to discuss major issues related to the use, policing, management and future of the internet.

Also on Tuesday, Emin Milli, a well known Azerbaijani youth activist and former political prisoner, is publishing an open letter to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan. The document is meant to coincide with the opening of the IGF, and is published by the London-based The Independent newspaper. In it, Mr. Milli challenges claims by the government that the internet is free is his country. He writes:

You once suggested in a speech that the internet is free in Azerbaijan. I am sure you will repeat this message at this global forum. It is true that people in Azerbaijan are free to use the internet, but it is also a fact that they can be severely punished afterwards for doing so.

Mr. Milli’s letter denounces widespread and warrantless surveillance of the web which, he says, has helped create a climate of fear reminiscent of the Soviet era, effectively preventing people from speaking out:

Today many of our fellow citizens do not dare to speak out against your policies, online or offline. You have successfully managed to silence them.

On July 8, 2009, Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada, a video-blogger and pro-democracy activist, were sentenced to 2 and 2.5 years in jail respectively, on trumped-up charges of “hooliganism”. Most observers and rights organizations at the time condemned the verdict as political, declaring both men prisoners of conscience. Many believe they were punished for their irreverent criticism of the regime of Ilham Aliyev and for their efforts to establish alternative communication channels for the youth.

Following an international outcry, both men were conditionally released in 2010.

The regime of Mr. Aliyev has since attempted to paint a picture of a country open to the outside world. The organization of this year's IGF conference is all but one example of that policy. Informed observers of the situation in Azerbaijan describe the emergence of a new kind of authoritarianism there—a “networked authoritarianism” that has successfully taken advantage of an open internet to discourage users to exercise political activism online, and to demonize those who, like Mr. Melli, dare to speak up.

The full text of Mr. Emin Melli’s open letter to President Aliyev can be found on The Independent’s website, following this link:

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-internet-is-not-free-in-azerbaijan-a-letter-to-president-ilham-aliyev-8282022.html