Campaign Aims to Increase Awareness for Digital Security in Syria

A new awareness campaign aims to help at-risk Syrians adopt sound digital security practices. The online campaign, #AmennySyria, warns of the risks associated with online activity and provides tips on increasing personal digital security. The 8-week campaign was launched on July 1, 2014 by SalamaTech in conjunction with several partner organisations.

The campaign has already reached more than 480,000 people on Facebook alone.

Digital safety matters in Syria. Syrian netizens are being captured, tortured and killed because of their online activities. This threat comes not just from the Assad regime. Armed groups like Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are also capturing and torturing people to access their online accounts. When a Syrian human rights defender (HRD) is captured, his or her entire network including friends and family, are exposed.

Through the provision of daily interactive content including quizzes, Q&A, informative posts, tips, and weekly recaps,  #AmennySyria aims to raise awareness among Syrians of digital threats. Creative visual banners anchor each of the campaign’s weekly themes to help Syrians better understand online risks.

Central to the #AmennySyria campaign is an Facebook event page where partner organisations are encouraging Syrians to join and learn about digital safety.

SalamaTech partners in the #AmennySyria  initiative include:

• Cyber Arabs,
• Technicians for Freedom
• The Syrian Revolution Technical Guide,
• The Office for Security Counseling of the Syrian Revolution, and
• Orient News