LGBTQ advocacy group creates online safety guide for Middle East and North Africa

Loom SWANA hopes to protect LGBTQ people’s digital safety

The LGBTIQ+ advocacy group LooM SWANA has published a guide for online safety for LGBTIQ+ community members and activists in Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA).

SWANA is “a decolonial and inclusive word for the region popularly known as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), LooM explains.

The guide, which can be downloaded here, presents security recommendations for a variety of situations and people.

76Crimes has excerpted some of these recommendations below.

Cyberbullying and Hate Speech

The problem: Amina is a resilient bisexual Sudanese woman who moved to Kampala, Uganda, seeking refuge after the devastating outbreak of war in her homeland. However, she faces a different kind of struggle in her new surroundings. Due to her sexuality, Amina regularly experiences online harassment and bullying from individuals who strongly oppose LGBTIQ+ rights. She receives an overwhelming number of hateful messages, derogatory comments, and even threats on various social media platforms, all targeting her sexual orientation. This relentless online harassment deeply impacts Amina’s mental health and overall well-being leaving her feeling isolated and vulnerable

The proposed solutions:

• Amina should prioritize frequently checking the privacy settings on her social media accounts and other online platforms. By regularly reviewing these settings she can take control of her online presence and manage who has access to her posts, who can send her messages, and who can find her through search results. This proactive approach is essential for maintaining her privacy and protecting her personal information from unwanted attention.
• Amina needs to exercise caution when accepting friend requests from individuals she does not know. This precaution is particularly crucial if the profiles of these individuals do not share any mutual friends with her or if their profiles exhibit suspicious characteristics. Such profiles may be fake or designed to deceive putting her at risk for potential harassment or other negative experiences online.
• Amina should refrain from sharing sensitive personal information such as her home address or phone number on social media or any other online platforms. This practice is vital in safeguarding her privacy and ensuring that her personal details do not fall into the wrong hands.
• Should Amina encounter harassment or abuse online, she should take immediate action. She should block the individual causing distress and report the incident to the social media platform. Most platforms have procedures in place to handle such situations, and reporting can help protect not only Amina but also other users from similar experiences.
• Amina should enable 2-Factor or Multi-factor Authentication (2FA/MFA) that doesn’t rely on SMS, since SMS can be vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks or interception. By using 2FA/MFA via an authenticator app, Amina will make it much more difficult for unauthorized users to gain access to her accounts, even if her passwords are compromised.
• Amina can benefit from reaching out to trusted friends family members, or LGBTIQ+ groups that can provide her with support and guidance. Engaging in conversations with others can offer emotional relief and they may provide valuable advice on how to navigate challenging situations.
• If online bullying begins to take a toll on her mental health or sense of safety seeking help from a supportive therapist or psychiatrist is a wise decision. Professional guidance can offer her coping strategies and emotional support empowering Amina to reclaim her sense of security and well-being in both her online and offline life.

Data Protection on Public Wi-Fi

The problem: Sami is a transgender man from Algeria who actively fights for the rights of people in the LGBTIQ+ community through his work with an organization that supports them. Sami frequently uses the internet in public areas for his job and to connect with people in the community. Sami often feels worried about his gender identity. He is afraid that the authorities or others might target him because of who he is and what he does. He wants to learn the best ways to keep himself and his coworkers safe.

The proposed solutions:

• To effectively protect his devices in public places such as cafes, hotels, and airports, Sami must ensure that his software is always up to date. It is essential that he regularly installs the latest operating system and app updates to eliminate security vulnerabilities.
• When connecting to public Wi-Fi, Sami must use a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt his data and safeguard his privacy. He should also disable the automatic connection feature for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to prevent accidental connections to untrusted networks.
• Sami should also use privacy-centric browsers like Tor, Mullvad, or Brave to protect personal data, browsing histories, and help maintain online anonymity. Tor and Mullvad browsers in particular are designed to minimize or eliminate user tracking, data collection, and digital fingerprinting, helping protect its users from surveillance and location monitoring.
• Sami should strictly avoid using public charging stations in cafes, airports, or other public areas due to the risk of malware installation on his devices. Instead, he should always opt to use his own mobile hotspot to create a secure network rather than relying on potentially dangerous public Wi-Fi.
• He must employ strong, unique passwords for all his accounts and should utilize a password manager for effective tracking. When accessing a public wireless network that requires a password, he must not use one associated with any of his accounts. Using a password manager like Bitwarden is highly recommended; it allows him to create a dedicated folder for public wireless connections and generate secure random passwords for those accounts.
• Sami should regularly review his Bluetooth settings to ensure that only trusted devices are connected. Additionally, he should avoid accessing sensitive information, including his organization’s website or social media accounts, over public Wi-Fi.
• After utilizing any public Wi-Fi network, Sami must go into his device’s settings and direct it to forget that network. If he saves a public Wi-Fi network from a frequently visited cafe or airport, his device may automatically connect next time without his awareness, putting him at risk of unintentionally transmitting sensitive information over an unsecured network.
• Sami must keep his devices closed at all times, protected with a password or a pin, and remain vigilant about his surroundings.

Arrest and Digital Surveillance

The problem: Ahmed works as a community outreach coordinator at a queer organization in Jordan that focuses on providing sexual health services, testing, and counseling to LGBTIQ+ individuals, especially gay men and trans women. Through social media and dating apps, Ahmed invites individuals to the organization’s various activities, such as community support sessions, training workshops, and testing services. Because of his work, he and his colleagues are concerned that authorities might raid their office or use spyware to monitor their outreach activities, leading to their arrest and the confiscation of their devices.

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The proposed solutions:

• The organization needs to create a comprehensive security plan that includes detailed security protocols tailored to each staff member’s specific responsibilities.
• Additionally, it is essential to formulate an emergency response plan to follow in the event of an arrest. This plan should encompass identifying and listing legal representatives and emergency contacts that staff can reach out to swiftly for assistance. By having these measures in place the organization can ensure the safety and well-being of its employees during critical situations.
• The organization’s staff including Ahmed must prioritize consistently updating all devices to maintain optimal security. Keeping your software updated is really important because these updates usually fix weaknesses that hackers use to spread malware. It’s important to stay alert and avoid clicking on strange links or opening unexpected email attachments as they can install harmful software on your device. Such malware poses serious risks to personal privacy and organizational security by monitoring activities online and offline. By being proactive and cautious the team can protect sensitive information and ensure a secure digital environment.
• The team should use encrypted messaging apps to share sensitive data related to their work such as Signal which has end-to-end encryption to communicate securely and enable remote wipe on their devices just in case they land in the wrong hands. Be careful to use this feature only if it does not raise any suspicions by the authorities, increase risk, and cause more harm.
• Ahmed and his team can turn on Lockdown Mode on their phones and fully encrypt their laptops. This mode limits certain apps and phone features to stop attackers from using them to install spyware. Moreover, they can use software such as Vera Crypt, which is a free and open-source tool for encryption. It can create a virtual encrypted disk that functions just like a regular disk but it exists within a file. It can also encrypt a partition or (in Windows) the entire storage device with pre-boot authentication.

Risks that LGBTIQ+ people run in the SWANA region

LooM created the online safety and secuity guide in response to hazards that LGBTIQ+ people encounter online in the SWANA region:

LGBTIQ+ individuals in the SWANA region encounter numerous obstacles when it comes to their rights and safety, primarily stemming from deeply ingrained conservative social norms, religious doctrines, and strict legal systems. In certain countries, same-sex relationships are deemed illegal with severe consequences such as imprisonment or even death. Transgender people and gender confirmation surgeries are also heavily stigmatized and often result in harsh legal penalties. These discriminatory practices not only infringe upon the basic human rights of the LGBTIQ+ communities but also create a hostile environment where individuals are forced to conceal their true identities for fear of persecution.

Then they turn to the Internet as a safe space for acquaintance, networking, and support. Online platforms pose additional threats such as surveillance censorship and cyberbullying, impacting the well-being of LGBTIQ+ individuals in the region. These threats include online harassment, surveillance, hacking, exposure of personal information, discrimination, blackmail, and digital entrapment by security forces. Police and judicial authorities may use digital evidence to prosecute individuals based on vague accusations under local cybercrime laws. These threats vary across countries within the SWANA region affecting the freedom and safety of LGBTIQ+ individuals and organizations advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.