The State of Cyber Civil Liberties in Russia

Netfreedom, Growing Civic Activism, Repression 2.0

Heritage Foundation
Washington, DC
June 1, 2011
 Net Freedom @ Freedom House

–  Freedom on the Net (FOTN)

•  2009 (15), 2011 (37)

–  Technology Support
•  Support, Training, Monitoring, Research

–  Advocacy / Policy
•  Internet Governance (IGF)
•  Freedom of Expression

•  Engaging NGO Networks

–  Strategic Partnerships
 HOW DO WE MEASURE NET FREEDOM

•  Obstacles to Access

•  Limits on Content

•  Violations of User Rights

 GROWING THREATS TO
INTERNET FREEDOM
•  Legal repercussions:
–  Use of general media legislation against
online activities as well as development
of internet-specific legislation

•  Extra-legal harassment and

violence:

–  Detentions, intimidation
–  Technical violence: Hacking, DDoS
attacks, etc..
•  Surveillance and infringements on
privacy in a wide range of
environments
Repression 2.0 : New Threats

Just in Time Blocking

Key website, services or infrastructure blocked

•  Flag for removal:

–  Can “crowd sourced” mechanisms be used to suspend accounts?

•  Communications infrastructure turned off

•  Technical Attacks:
–  Compromising SSL : Man in the middle attacks
–  Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack
–  Country level Phishing attacks (Tunisia, Syria)
–  Targeted Malware: China, Egypt

•  Targeted Censorship:
–  Block key sites at critical time (Elections, protests, etc)
Emergence of Malware Industry
 What can be done (II) ?

•  Understanding the vulnerabilities

–  Need to understand user knowledge & choices

•  Surveys, Assessments, Research

–  Need to explain vulnerabilities, threats and solutions in

simple to use language
•  High Risk Environments / Pervasive Surveillance

–  Sending messages via insecure networks

•  Internet
•  Mobile Networks (location tracking, remote access of phone, etc..)
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports the
expansion of freedom around the world. Freedom House supports democratic
change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights.

For more information contact:

Robert Guerra
Freedom House

Email: guerra@freedomhouse.org
Web: freedomhouse.org
Twitter: netfreedom

Support the right of every individual to be free.