First aid kit for people who face digital threats

A group of NGOs that includes the EFF, Global Voices, and Internews, has launched the Digital First Aid Kit, an open source self-assessment tool for people who face digital threats.

The Digital Defenders Partnership was established in 2012 to provide emergency support for Internet users trying to exercise their universal rights through new technologies.

“The Digital First Aid Kit is not meant to serve as the ultimate solution to every digital emergency, but it strives to give users and first responders tools that can help them to make a first assessment of what is happening and determine if they can mitigate the problem on their own,” the EFF explained.

“The kit begins by offering ways to establish secure communication when you or a contact are facing a digital threat and want to reach out for support. The Kit also provides sections on account hijacking, seizure of devices, malware infections and DDoS attacks. Each section begins with a series of questions about the user, their devices and their situation. These questions will guide them through a self-assessment or help a first responder better understand the challenges they are facing. Finally, the Kit lays out initial steps to understand and potentially fix the problems. The steps should also help users or first responders to recognize when to request help from a specialist.”

The kit is aimed primarily at journalists, bloggers, activists and human rights defenders facing digital attacks, but can be used by anyone.

The kit can be downloaded from github, and it will be continually updated.

“We encourage people to annotate the guide, fork their own versions, contribute feedback about advice that does or does not work, and make translations,” the EFF noted.