A crucial publication commissioned and published by WACSI, this work equipped civil society organizations with essential knowledge to protect their digital infrastructure. In an era of increasing cyber threats, it emphasized the importance of digital security for the sustainability and effectiveness of civil society initiatives, enabling organizations to maintain their operations and safeguard their data.

Over the last two decades, technology tools available for Civil society actors in Africa have tremendously evolved. Journalists and activists relied mostly on print media to call out dictators and authoritarian regimes. To avoid being incarcerated, they hid their identities or never stayed in one location. Today, they use digital technologies to mask their identities and digital footprints, and communicate in real-time with informants and reporters using technologically advanced tools. To keep pace with the world and be effective in the work that they do, such media and civil society actors have had to embrace new and emerging technologies to facilitate their work. They make use of technological options like cloud, virtual private network (VPN), servers, WhatsApp, biometrics, co/remote working, payment gateway, among others.

Over the last two decades, technology tools available for Civil society actors in Africa have tremendously evolved. Journalists and activists relied mostly on print media to call out dictators and authoritarian regimes. To avoid being incarcerated, they hid their identities or never stayed in one location. Today, they use digital technologies to mask their identities and digital footprints, and communicate in real-time with informants and reporters using technologically advanced tools . To keep pace with the world and be effective in the work that they do, such media and civil society actors have had to embrace new and emerging technologies to facilitate their work. They make use of technological options like cloud, virtual private network (VPN), servers, WhatsApp, biometrics, co/remote working, payment gateway, among others. card payments. As many as 85% of NGOs in Africa have adopted the use of social media (mostly Facebook and Twitter) to engage and disseminate information to followers. And almost 60% regularly send email updates about their work and projects, and at least 35% adopt either WhatsApp or Facebook to communicate with supporters and donors.

This massive adoption of technology comes with gains as well as issues and challenges. Technology ultimately serves to bridge the gap between people and businesses. It connects and interfaces lives, infrastructures and processes in society. However, technology puts sensitive data and information closer to users, making the data and its users more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Boles (2013)1 argues that civil societies are some of the least aware of this.

Share this