Today, International Human Rights Day, the Benetech Human Rights Program is delighted to announce the release of version 5 of the Martus app and the debut of the updated Martus Project website. With these updates, Benetech is taking a leap towards improving the usability of end-to-end, open source encryption and extending its benefits to rights defenders, activists, journalists, citizen reporters, and other organizations and individuals who rely on secure data collection.
As we start to grasp the scope and scale of unchecked surveillance, it is clear that having the know-how to protect personal information and privacy is no longer something that only human rights activists need. That’s why our Human Rights Program is working to increase use of end-to-end, open source encryption among journalists, citizen reporters, and activists, as well as broad awareness of the self-empowerment that open technology can generate. Team members of the Benetech Human Rights Program have just hosted a two-day workshop in New York City, where they introduced Martus, Benetech’s open technology for secure information management.
Benetech has signed a joint letter from a coalition of civil society and human rights organizations seeking clarification as to the allegations that the NSA and GCHQ monitored or are monitoring the communications of their organizations, or of other civil society organizations, media organizations, and human rights groups.
After Snowden, Whither Internet Freedom? This is the theme set for the fourth annual Cyber Dialogue conference on March 30-31, 2014, where VP of Human Rights Enrique Piracés will be speaking. To preview his discussion, Enrique has published an op-ed on human rights technology in the age of hyper-surveillance on the Cyber Dialogue blog.
Silicon Valley startups are proving their ability to subvert internet censorship plans of governments half a world away, but by doing so might wade into dicey diplomatic waters. In a story that examines the promises and perils of this new, unregulated power, TechCrunch journalist Gregory Ferenstein quotes our VP of Human Rights, Enrique Piracés, who explains why non-commercial, open source technology ought to be the baseline for trusted anti-censorship applications.
