Beyond Password Strength: Cybersecurity as a Human Rights Imperative

• Standard digital security recommendations like strong passwords and two-factor authentication are insufficient for those targeted for their advocacy, journalism, or reporting of abuses.
• A UN Women survey highlights that 70% of female human rights defenders, activists, and journalists have experienced online violence, with 40% reporting that these incidents spilled over into real-life attacks.

The Real-World Impact of Digital Threats

• Research from the Latin American Observatory on Digital Threats (OLAD) documented over 100 cases of digital threats between June 2024 and May 2025, ranging from surveillance and censorship to tech-facilitated gender-based violence.
• Harassment campaigns often involve doxxing, disclosure of private information, and smear tactics designed to discredit, intimidate, and endanger individuals in physical spaces.

The Role and Limits of Encryption

• While end-to-end encryption is essential for protecting sources and communications, it does not stop threats if the device itself is compromised or if metadata is harvested by providers or state surveillance.
• Legal frameworks regarding encryption vary significantly, as seen in the differences between Chile’s Cybersecurity Act and ongoing debates in Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Collective Responsibility for Digital Safety

• Organizations must conduct thorough risk assessments—identifying what information they hold, who targets it, and the potential consequences of a breach—rather than relying on one-size-fits-all tools.
• Digital security strategies should address organizational independence and technological autonomy, ensuring that tools chosen do not increase dangerous dependencies.
• States have a duty to protect rights without using cybersecurity policies as a pretext for surveillance or weakening encryption, as highlighted by the concerning deportation of digital expert Ola Bini from Ecuador.