Humanitarianism in the Network Cyber-warfare Age

Policy Analysis and Innovation

Humanitarianism in the Network Agewww.unocha.org/hina Recommendation 4 - Develop robust

ethical guidelines around the use of information

“do no harm” standards for the ethical use of new forms of data, including protocols for protecting privacy and guaranteeing informants’ safety, and ensuring that these clearly addressed the separate issues of liability, privacy and security.

Introduction

The transition to the Network Age

off-line tools -> cloud services

not enough data -> detailed personal information

limited sharing -> open data exchanges

quickly outdated -> real-time data and two-way communication

Just humanitarian orgs–> private companies, volunteer and technical communities, governments

Introduction

Types of sensitive informationPersonally identifiable

information (PII)

Community identifiable Information (CII)

Meta-data and secondary data that help identify the first two

Introduction

Legal considerations More privacy laws

Liability and legal issues complex and getting worse

Need waivers for disasters and crisis

Agreements with private companies – and their users

Legal issues

Ethics of information in a crisis Informed consent – what is meaningful in

a crisis, particularly when linked to aid?

Responsibility of the humanitarian organization to ensure that information is handled responsibly

Think through the implications of technology – when it works and when it doesn’t

Ethical issues

Data Protection Guidelines1. Collected in a legal manner for a legitimate

purpose.2. Don’t collect what you don’t need3. Risk assessment 4. Informed consent 5. Accurate and up-to-date.6. Secured to prevent unintended uses.7. Data that is no longer needed should be

destroyed.8. Accountability – access, request and removal

processes9. Avoid duplication of information collection

efforts

Ethical issues

Operational mechanisms Responsible project design

Privacy Impact AssessmentsEthical review boards

Responsible sharingInformation classificationAnonymization and

aggregation1. .

Ethical issues

The age of cyber-warfareHumanitarian information will be a

tempting target, so will our social capitol and trust

Spyware and other tools are cheap and easy to use

Armed and political groups will have organized cyberwarfare wings

Security issues

The threats Targets:

Humanitarian organizations Communities or ethnic groups Crime and fraud - $$$$$$

Types of attacks: Nuisance and protest Data-theft and monitoring Social attacks Physical infrastructure disruptions

Government surveillance, filtering and censorship: ???

Security issues

Data security

Only protect what needs protecting Basic hygiene Cybersecurity assessments Work with experts where needed

Humanitarian “cyber”-spaceOpenness and transparencyDialogue with cyber-groupsAvoid over-securitization

Security issues

Recommendations

Advocate for legal frameworks for sharing data in emergencies

Strengthen codes of conduct and operational procedures for the ethical use of information

Invest in risk analysis and information security

Support ethical innovation Prioritize open data and

transparency

Conclusions

Thank you! Credit also to Leith Baker,

mFieldwork (mfieldwork.com)

Conclusions