Basic
Type of Organization or Community: Non-governmental organization
Type of Work: The organization supports advocacy for, protection and defense of human rights, the fight against sexual and gender-based violence, and promotes empowerment of women.
Country or Region: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Work Environment: Some of the work is done on site in the office, but staff also work remotely when it is necessary to deploy to the field.
Organization or Community Size & Makeup: The organization has a total of 20 employees, 5 of whom have a basic knowledge of office computing.
Legal and Cultural Landscape
Setting
The organization primarily works in the Eastern part of the country where there is a long history of human rights abuse and attacks by armed groups and government forces.
Connectivity quality
Internet in the region is not stable and is very expensive. In the office, the organization has a medium level of connectivity.
Cultural & social norms
Local communities are very conservative and tend to misunderstand the goals and activities of the organization.
Security Practices and Policies
- The organization equips all staff with Antivirus Software to protect their computers.
- There are safety restrictions in place for staff who work in the field. For example, staff in the field may not work after 4:00 pm due to the increased safety risk after this time.
- All movements and routes while on mission are kept secret and not disclosed to third parties.
- Organization computers are kept on the premises, staff are not permitted to take them home.
Tools + Devices
Devices:
- To access the internet, organization staff use personal computers, work computers, and smartphones.
- Most of the staff connect to a wifi network using a 4G modem.
Tools & Platforms:
- Gmail is used for e-mail messaging.
- Skype is used for video conferencing and messaging.
- Zoom is also used for video conferencing.
Key Processes or Workflows
The organization documents human rights violations and shares the information with other organizations. A typical workflow may look like this:
- A staff member in the field shares a report on documented cases of human rights violations.
- The organization then centralizes and stores the report received from the staff member.
- The organization then shares and disseminates the reports to their staff as well as to other organizations in the region.
Key Challenges or Questions
- Social media is being used to communicate without taking security risks and safety measures into account.
- Many staff members are not aware of digital safety and security threats or methods and tools to combat them.
- Even the staff members with some technical knowledge were self-taught and do not have any formal training in digital security or IT.
- Are there more secure apps that can be used to communicate with staff members in the field?
