Tips for doing online research safely

From TCU Wiki

How to carry out your research safely

As we all know -- access to information is critically important to human rights defenders. However, accessing needed information can sometimes be censored, and your online activity (including searches) can often be surveilled. For these reasons, it is helpful to know about your options to circumvent internet censorship and how to protect yourself from being surveilled online. Here is a collection of resources on safe internet browsing.

Desk research tips

The Totem project offers a free online course on desk research for journalists and human rights defenders. You will come away from this course understanding:

  • How to conduct intelligent research online research on databases, people and sources
  • Best practices and tips for conducting information research beyond a Google search
  • How to search and extract data contained in local, national and international databases

Existing research on threats

Transnational repression

As you research your opponents capabilities, it is helpful to look at existing research reports on how governments are carrying out surveillance and other repression tactics against HRDs in other countries. (Note: You can use the search box on this database to search for words or phrases within the reports)

Pegasus (and other spyware)

On this wiki page, you will find some resources related to Pegasus (and other spyware) including a list of countries known to have purchased Pegasus.