New Cyber Resilience Handbook for Women Rights Groups

A new IWPR handbook will support women’s rights activists, peacebuilders and advocates in Armenia, Moldova, and Georgia navigate the complex world of cybersecurity threats.

These have emerged as a key means of destabilisation and a convenient way to create chaos, disseminate misinformation and obstruct progress.

Women’s rights and LGBTQI+ organisations in the South Caucasus and Moldova grapple with particular challenges in their work advocating for change and equality.

Such activism exposes civil society actors, peacebuilders and human rights defenders to increased risks, especially as victims of non-targeted cyber attacks.

“We needed a learning tool that was tailored, engaging, user-friendly and relatable; one that could easily bridge the gap between the complexity and the importance of cybersecurity for women’s rights organisations,” said BREN regional communications manager Jennifer Kanaan, who developed the book.

“We needed a learning tool that was tailored, engaging, user-friendly and relatable."

The Cyber Resilience for Women Rights Organisations guide offers an interactive, engaging, and easily comprehensible resource. Using real-life examples, it follows two women's rights activists and their daily work, providing practical solutions for the cybersecurity dangers they face.

Vonda Wolcott, IWPR’s capacity building manager for the Building Resilience in the Eastern Neighbourhood (BREN) programme, highlighted the need for a different approach to building the capacity of civil society organisations when it came to cyber security.

“In talking to the organisations, we learned of common challenges. They face a lack of accessible and relatable local cybersecurity resources, and cybersecurity often takes a back seat to more pressing work priorities.”

The handbook is part of IWPR’s Cyber Resilience support programme in Georgia, Armenia and Moldova, implemented in collaboration with IT consultants Toro Risk Solutions and local experts.

"Cybersecurity often takes a back seat to more pressing work priorities.”

The programme aimed to enhance the capacity of BREN’s partners in addressing cyber threats to security and online information flows. 

Partners received assistance in developing and implementing roadmaps to enhance their cyber resilience, through personalised training, mentorship and access to learning materials.

This guide is now available to civil society groups beyond the BREN project and is being translated into Armenian, Georgian and Romanian.