What is Afrique Média CyberSécurité?

What is Afrique Média CyberSécurité?

AFRIQUE MÉDIA CYBERSÉCURITÉ is a theoretical and practical internet security training programme for professional journalists and civil society media actors — bloggers, citizen journalists, cyber-activists and others — from ten countries in West Africa.

The programme is dedicated to our late colleague Anna Gueye, who played a major part in setting it up. Afrique Média CyberSécurité will train 500 media professionals and civil society actors in cyber security. It was launched by the African League of Web Activists and Bloggers for Democracy (AFRICTIVISTES) in response to strong demand from media professionals following several threats to and shutdowns of internet networks.

What are the objectives?

The training seminars aim to equip journalists, web activists and social media users with digital security skills and suitable technologies for circumventing censorship. By the end of the programme, participants will have the tools and knowledge they need to work safely, communicate securely, reduce the risks of infiltration and hacking, bypass internet censorship and counter surveillance technologies.

After the seminars, the 500 participants will join the AFRIQUE MÉDIA CYBERSÉCURITÉ online community, a space for sharing good practice and providing mutual support among French-speaking media actors in West Africa. They will also receive regular updates on the anti-censorship technologies introduced during the training.

What is at stake?

Civil society actors who are whistle-blowers, citizen journalists or simply web activists are threatened, persecuted, monitored and arrested in some countries for publishing or sharing information. Bloggers are in prison and web activists are on trial. Cyber-surveillance and intimidation have become so widespread that they restrict people’s ability to speak out and information’s free circulation. Working in the media, whether professionally or not, often entails risks in some African countries, even in democratic ones. Journalists’ duty to inform and the public’s right to access information are frequently violated. With digitalisation, some governments have not hesitated to use authoritarian methods to impose an internet “blackout” across an entire country. The DRC, Chad, Cameroon, Gabon, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia and even Senegal have all experienced some form of social media censorship. In Senegal, this happened on the evening Karim Wade was released.

We need to explain the issues, threats and risks, and help media workers adopt a new security policy and understand how to protect the digital data they process, store and share every day.

Why take this initiative beyond Senegal?

Africtivistes is a pan-African network. It is active in 35 countries on the continent and currently has 200 members. The programme currently focuses on West Africa, but demand is even stronger in Central Africa, particularly among our friends in the DRC, Cameroon and Gabon.

For this first edition, ten theoretical and practical training seminars will be organised, each with 50 participants. Each session will consist of two groups of 25 and last six days.

The sessions will take place in the French-speaking countries of West Africa and in The Gambia:

1. Senegal
2. Benin
3. Côte d’Ivoire
4. Guinea
5. Togo
6. Mali
7. Mauritania
8. Niger
9. Burkina Faso
10. The Gambia

How many sessions have taken place so far?

The programme has just launched and will run from 17 July 2017 to 17 February 2018. The first session, which marked the start of the programme, took place in Guinea during the week of 17–22 July 2017. It brought together 50 motivated participants selected from 118 applicants.

How many participants have taken part so far?

We have just begun in Guinea, where 50 people have been trained. There were 118 applicants with a wide range of relevant experience, but we had to select participants. It was a difficult choice: ideally, we would share our knowledge with everyone who applied.

The call for applications was intended only for Guineans, but people from other African countries and members of the diaspora also applied. This shows the level of interest in the subject.

Has the programme had a positive start? Are you satisfied?

Cyber security is at the heart of Africtivistes’ work. Alongside our in-house expertise, we have technical partners such as Professor Richard R. Brooks of Clemson University in the United States, and cyber-law specialists Henri Thulliez and Charles Sanchez from the Platform to Protect Whistle-blowers in Africa (PPLAAF).

These choices were deliberate. Each partner makes a crucial contribution. Professor Brooks, for example, covers the use of digital communications tools — the internet, browsers, email and computers, among others — while the lawyers explain the digital legal context in which people work.

This theoretical introduction to legislation and the interpretation of laws helps define the scope of digital security. It also explains that, despite all the work people do to build a digital barrier around their devices — computers, mobile phones and other tools — they may one day lose all or some of their data. Data may also be stolen or damaged in an accident or malicious act. Ordinary events such as a power cut, an open window or a spilled cup of coffee can lead to serious problems. The training helps participants put a security policy in place.

• Learn about the workplace and its premises;
• Manage the working environment, including the desk layout, device placement, screen visibility and other factors;
• Understand security policies; and
• Understand the environment in which they work.

It is also essential to understand how internet surveillance systems work and how to counter them in certain situations. Digital security is now fundamental to journalists’ safety and effectiveness. There is little point in carrying out a major investigation or in-depth research on a sensitive subject only to have a file stolen or lose data because a work device has been infected or compromised.

It is also essential to understand the legal context, including laws on freedom of expression, press freedom and the internet in each country and internationally. We have included this because it is important to know not only your rights, but also what the law permits and where its limits lie.

Overall, we are very pleased with this first session and would like to thank all the Guinean participants who attended the six-day course in such large numbers, even though some found it highly technical.

What challenges do journalists face? What should they be wary of?

When asked, “Do you ever hold sensitive information that you want to keep secret or secure?”, 81% said yes. When asked whether they had ever been in contact with a source who refused to speak for fear of being listened to, monitored or put in danger, 65% said they had.

More than half of all applicants said they had been hacked. They should therefore be wary of everything — not to the point of becoming paranoid, but so that they understand the issues, risks and other threats.

We want journalists to understand that digital security is a process, not simply a collection of tools. They also need to understand that digital attacks have become easier to carry out. This makes it essential to adopt digital security practices and understand the privacy and anonymity measures available to them.

Examples of censorship and rights violations between 2015 and 2017

Burundi — Protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term

“Since Tuesday 28 April 2015, the ARCT has written to us requesting the temporary suspension of several social networks, including WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Tango, but not the internet,” a Burundian telecommunications agency said.

DRC — Demonstrations on 19 January 2015

The internet and telecommunications networks were cut off. Sharing and disseminating information became very difficult for several hours.

Senegal — Karim Wade’s release

In Senegal, telecommunications networks were disrupted on the evening of 23 June 2016, and some social media networks were blocked to prevent information from circulating. Karim Wade, the son of former President Abdoulaye Wade, had been imprisoned on charges of illicit enrichment.

Mali — Thursday 18 August 2016

The evening after violence broke out in Bamako, normal access to Facebook and Twitter in Mali remained impossible for internet users. The outage began at about 5 pm local time and continued, although access returned intermittently. On Wednesday 17 August, at around 10 pm, the hashtag #MaliOffline first appeared on diaspora accounts.

What do you recommend to African internet users?

First, understand the technology you use. It is easy to expose yourself to risks when you do not understand the basic principles behind a technology. It is almost impossible to protect yourself if you do not take the time to understand the tools, platforms and technology you use — and to which you entrust important information about yourself and those around you.

People should also understand why states seek to censor the internet. These reasons are political, social and often related to national security, especially when social movements oppose government decisions or attempts to violate democratic rules.

They should learn to:

• Communicate securely;
• Delete data from their devices;
• Assess potential risks;
• Connect anonymously;
• Choose appropriate technologies;
• Circumvent government censorship; and
• Protect digital information.

What have you observed over the years?

Social media and blogging have become new forms of citizen media. They offer African civil society a way to build participatory democracy and civic engagement. We have also observed that cyber-surveillance has become a global trend. Alongside repression and intimidation, censorship and surveillance are increasingly being enforced through legal penalties in some countries. In The Gambia, for example, journalists and bloggers have received 15-year prison sentences and fines of US$100,000. In Benin, a blogger was ordered to pay a substantial fine. Another observation is that complete internet outages seem to occur at the most politically sensitive moments, while some countries are trying to find ways to adapt their democracies to this new form of civic expression.

It is also important to note the strong mobilisation of citizens through new media. From 2008 to 2015, citizen-led web activity became more professional in response to strong public demand for institutional transparency, respect for democratic rules and institutional accountability.

Results of youth mobilisation and informed use of digital tools

• In 2008, during the post-election crisis, young Kenyans created the Ushahidi web application.
• From 2010 to 2011, Tunisians experienced an unprecedented revolution in their political history. It led to the departure of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had been in office since 1987.
• In 2010, Ivorians launched the hashtags #CIV2010 and #CIVSOCIAL, linked to two civic initiatives.
• In 2012, Senegalese bloggers provided election coverage for the first time using a new monitoring system and created the concept of the e-observer.
• In 2012, young Ghanaians launched GhanaDecides.

From 2012 to 2015, in just three years, Africa saw major civic initiatives focused on information and transparency:

• Vote229 in Benin;
• GuinéeVote in Guinea;
• MaliVote in Mali;
• Mackymètre in Senegal;
• Buharimètre in Nigeria;
• Présimètre in Burkina Faso;
• Talonmètre in Benin; and
• Africtivistes, the African League of Bloggers and Web Activists for Democracy, at continental level.

What should civil society be wary of?

African civil society should be wary of:

• Technophobia;
• A lack of resources; and
• Intrusive or restrictive legislation.

It should be wary of everything when seeking to preserve its independence and security.

Do political authorities take your advice into account?

We believe political authorities draw exclusively on our advice to adapt and strengthen their legal and technical arsenal, so they can retain the control they seem to have lost with the advent of new technologies. Technology gives civil society a considerable lead over public administrations. Technology itself is ahead of the courts.

The internet is now present in many households. Do you think it contributes to democracy?

Since 2012, we have been talking about the advent of “enhanced citizenship”: the emergence of a new kind of African citizen at the centre of democratic life, fully embracing their role through participation, questioning those in power, advocacy, lobbying, civic monitoring and raising the alarm.

Internet penetration is often raised as an issue when discussing Africa. It is important to understand that what is said, done and shared online reaches our homes in the evening and is discussed in family courtyards. Applications such as WhatsApp have become essential tools for democratisation because they circulate information and create large networks of connected citizens. These networks can quickly become powerful collaborative communities thanks to their reach, speed, ease of use and scalability.

The internet contributes to strengthening democracy in Africa in several ways:

• It gives civil society a way to structure and organise social movements.
• It facilitates reforms that can advance democracy and good governance. It also makes it possible to oppose unconstitutional reforms.

The use of ICTs to support good governance is justified by the need for transparent procedures that improve decision-making on matters affecting a country’s economic activity and its economic relations with other countries.

• Civic participation and engagement
  • Better representation of citizens in state institutions and democratic debates.
• Education
  • A new approach to civic education.
• Information and access to public data
  • Official statements and published texts;
  • Access to draft laws and constitutions.
• Participatory governance
  • Budget voting;
  • Project monitoring;
  • Digitisation of civil registration, land records, population censuses and tax collection.
• Improving the country’s overall macroeconomic framework and its banking and financial sectors.
• Whistle-blowing
  • Sharing reports of human rights violations, even when they concern totalitarian countries closed to the international press.