Compromised Connections: Overcoming Privacy Challenges of the Mobile Internet

"The growing and rapidly changing interaction between ICT and society will continue to push a wide range of human rights concerns to the forefront. In response, we need to carefully think about how we harness the power of these technologies, while continuing to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy online."

From Internews and the Vodafone Foundation, Compromised Connections is a brief introduction to emerging security issues impacting mobile phones in development. It is presented in the context of an understanding that universal access to devices and internet connections "offers unprecedented opportunity in development and human rights work. It can serve as the fulcrum of civil society organizing, election monitoring, government accountability, budget transparency, critical humanitarian information access during emergencies, and human rights violation documentation. Civil society organizations can have direct and 24/7 access to target communities, and a variety of groups involved in information, advocacy, and rights work can access information, opportunities and choices that they never could before."

However, in the context of threats like individual security, network insecurity, and malware attacks, there is a need for organisations that use mobile in their work to adopt a comprehensive mobile security strategy. The resource recommends safety measures that can be quickly adopted - from device safety to data security - and points to online resources that may be useful for people interested in following future developments. Ultimately, it advocates a "mobile-first” approach: adoption of an information management strategy that prioritises the safety of mobile devices and their users.