PRIVACY UNDER ATTACK: WikiLeaks Reminds Us of the NSA/GCHQ Theft of Official Pakistani Citizen Data

On June 6th, The Intercept and other news outlets reported on a leaked National Security Agency report that analysed Russian military intelligence’s attempts to hack electoral systems days before the United States Presidential Election in 2016. According to WikiLeaks and Assange, both the GCHQ and the NSA acquired access to the database of Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to get hold of the identification records of Pakistani citizens, in order to be able to track anyone that they may suspect to be involved with terrorism. Read More...

Shmyla Khan Talks About Cyber Harassment on FM91

Shmyla Khan, represented the hardworking team of the Cyber Harassment Helpline on FM 91’s “Pakoray and Patakay” with Ahmer Naqvi on June 16, 2017. The discussion created awareness about online harassment and tips about digital security--followed by a quiz for the audience. Thank you to the team for supporting DRF!

Data Protection & Privacy in the Digital Age – Part 1: “You Are Being Watched”

We live in what cyber space specialists call the “Golden Age of Surveillance.” As our lives become increasingly digitalized, our privacy is proportionally threatened by the onslaught of data-hungry marketers and companies interested in snooping on our behavioural preferences. Not all of us realize that with or without our consent, our lives are being tracked and gathered in a massive database of personal information by companies and government agencies. But what can we do about it? Read More...

Statement of Support #RecoverAishaAndAlyaan

Digital Rights Foundation and Girls at Dhabas condemn the attack on Asma Jahangir’s associates from AGHS Legal Aid Cell - comprising a female lawyer and two male lawyers - inside a courtroom at the Lahore High Court yesterday morning, i.e. June 20, 2017, by a large group of about 60 to 70 lawyers. Asma and her team have been representing a poor woman who filed a petition to find her missing daughter, 26-year-old Aisha, and grandson, Alyaan. Read More...

Social Media Crackdown in Pakistan

Crackdown of social media activists continues as a Pakistani journalist, Zafar Achakzai, was arrested on June 25, 2017 in Quetta. Zafar has been accused of writing against “national security institutions” on social media and charged under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. Read More...

Taimoor Raza Sentenced To Death For Blasphemy on Facebook

Courtesy of Guardian.
Photograph: Faisal Mahmood/REUTERS

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to death for allegedly committing blasphemy on Facebook, the latest step in an intensified crackdown on dissent on social media, reports Guardian. Read More...

IFEX At 25: Strategy Conference & General Meeting, Montreal, Canada

June saw IFEX, the international freedom of expression network, mark its 25th anniversary in Montreal, the city in which it was founded, with the 2017 IFEX Strategy Conference and General Meeting. The theme of this year’s conference were the 3 ‘Rs’ - Rights, Resistance, and Resilience - to quote Cathal Sheerin of IFEX, “In other words, what our members fight for, the way they fight and how they endure the often relentless attacks on their work and organisations promoting our rights.”

Given the worsening state of rights across the globe in 2017, with growing repression and travel bans preventing some delegates from being able to attend, the 3 Rs carry more weight than ever, and were a recurring theme during the workshops held during the three day conference.

Digital Rights Foundation was able to to share our experiences in the struggle for digital rights, transparency, privacy and freedom of expression in Pakistan, our cyber-harassment helpline, and to present our thoughts on the Open Government Partnership that Pakistan has recently joined.

We not only established possible collaborations with potential partners, but Digital Rights Foundation is also pleased to report that we were voted to become full members of the IFEX network - a new role that will help us in our fight for digital, privacy and freedom of expression rights in Pakistan.

Access Now: How the Digital Rights Foundation is empowering women to defend their rights

In a world where people struggle for basic human rights and are put behind bars when they fight for those rights, they confront countless challenges every day. And if they happen to be from an oppressed or minority group, those struggles grow exponentially. Individuals and organizations are working beyond borders, day in and out, to make this fight easier for those who don’t have the information or capacity to fight for themselves. DRF focuses on the right to data privacy, and the issues pertaining to gender in technology — particularly the internet. Read More...

The Rights of Pakistani Citizens in the Digital Realm

Free speech on social media is being actively stifled by the government. Many people have received telephone calls by the Federal Investigations Agency (FIA), requiring them to present themselves at the FIA offices. People have received notices too. There have been detentions and seizures of people’s personal electronic devices.  Most alarmingly, criminal proceedings have been instituted against an individual for expressing opinions critical of the country’s armed forces. In such circumstances, it is essential that citizens know exactly what the limits of their freedom of expression are. Read More...

Intercepting phone calls is legal, Senate body told - July 2017

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom Division on Monday informed the Senate Committee on Delegated Legislation that intercepting telephone calls is lawful and should not be taken as a serious matter because it is practiced worldwide. Read More...

Author: Hija Kamran

Nearly three months ago, people woke up to the news of Qandeel Baloch's murder by her brother in what was said to be an honour killing. The case caught the attention of the media and sparked debates around honour killings, privacy and women in the public eye. Recently, however, after the reports on her parents’ plight for help, it became apparent that the media attention had not translated into support for those left behind in wake of her murder.

Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), after a crowd funding campaign, went to Multan to meet Qandeel’s parents (who were accompanied by their lawyer), only to find out that her 80 year old father Azeem Khan and mother Anwar Bibi were struggling to live in their house due to non-payment of rent – the same house where Qandeel, their sole support, was murdered. They left Multan soon after their daughter’s tragic death and were living in their village, Shah Sadar Din in Dera Ghazi Khan. The rent of the house and utility bills, however, were immediately paid with the help of the funding DRF raised in only three days with the help of Women’s Action Forum, The Feminist Collective and individual donors.

Qandeel was brutally strangled to death because she chose to lead her life differently. She had always been the victim of lack of journalistic ethics, when media personalities called her on TV for extra TRPs, and when her real identity, including her CNIC and Passport, was revealed to the world. She feared for her safety and sought police protection, which was denied to her.

Her lawyer, Safdar Shah told us about his conversation with Qandeel right before her death, where she raised concerns about her safety after her photos with Mufti Abdul Qavi had emerged. The conversation was later leaked to the media. The media even converged on her village, interviewing locals and disrespecting Qandeel’s wishes not to have her identity made public. This naturally raises the question of where does one draw a line between public curiosity and the right to an individual’s privacy. In a world where anyone can be tracked just by the pattern of their activities on social media, cashing in at the expense of somebody’s privacy meant, in this case, to put them at the mercy of murderers and so-called “flag bearers” of honour. In terms of the stakes that privacy holds, Qandeel’s story is not unique.

However, just three months down the road most of us have already moved on. But her parents are still in the same state of shock and misery after their own son killed their beloved daughter and the sole breadwinner of the household. As her father, Azeem Khan shared his ordeal with DRF, one could tell by his expressions, the persecution they’ve received from the people who were once dear to them. Azeem, who lost his leg in an accident six months ago, burst into tears as he recalled how Qandeel had planned to get him a prosthetic leg and in fact had plans to take him to the doctor the morning she was found murdered.

Watch as Qandeel's parents talk about the many aspects of Qandeel's life:

A woman who selflessly supported her family, who didn’t care about what others think of her; a woman who stood for her rights to expression and advocated for the rights of women, was often misunderstood to be an attention seeker. She was in fact a one woman army on a bigger mission of her own – to break the stereotypical image of women in a conservative society. Had she not done it, her poverty-stricken family would otherwise be living a miserable life. This very woman was killed by the man who she called her brother, who she’d been feeding and putting a roof over since she had started earning. And the feeble justification of this brutal murder was honour.

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Last week, however, the parliament approved anti-honour killing bill which was in fact catalysed after Qandeel’s murder. In a country where legal proceedings are generally slow, where some murders are even celebrated; associate ‘honour’ or ‘religion’ as the motive and you have a criminal glorified as a hero. And once the people are done celebrating a murderer, they start threatening the complainant and the heir of the victim to drop charges in exchange of blood money. However, in Qandeel’s case, after the state became a party in the FIR; if the parents were to withdraw the case, the state would step in and Section 311 of the Pakistan Penal Code (Ta'zir after waiver or compounding of right of qisas in qatl-i-amd) becomes active where the court retains the discretion to punish the defendant under ta’zir (secular punishment) for 10-14 years.

Nonetheless, under the new act of anti-honour killing, even though the life sentence of twelve and a half years is compulsory, the killer can be pardoned by the relatives of the victim. In such cases, there’s only so much laws can do. The strongly established ideologies of the people and the personal beliefs towards the principles they consider larger than life – say, honour and religion – usually affect the efficient applicability of the laws of the land. But all that can be done for now is to make sure that there’s no more violence against women, and that there’s no other Azeem Khan mourning the brutal death of another Qandeel Baloch.

In her own words,

"If you have a strong will power, definitely, nothing can let you go down."
RIP, Qandeel.

If you own an iPhone, please a take a minute to read the following warning:

On Thursday, August 25th 2016, Apple released an urgent security update iOS, the operating system upon which your iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches run. This security update has been designed to fix three huge security gaps which exist on certain Apple devices. The gaps in iOS security can allow hackers to access almost every form of data on your device, without your knowledge, including: text messages, calender entries, emails, your location, your photos and much more. Most disturbingly, the software can remotely activate your device’s camera and microphone, without your knowledge. What Citizen Labs and others are calling “one of the most sophisticated pieces of cyberespionage software we’ve ever seen” has already been used in an attempt to infiltrate the iPhone of an UAE-based human rights activist, and may not have been discovered otherwise.

For your own safety, please update your devices, and ask others to do so as well. If you are uncertain as to how to do so, please do the following:

1. Go to “Settings.”

2. Choose “General.”

3. Click on “Software Update.”

4. Agree to update to iOS 9.3.5.

5. Done.

To read about this software, and what it means, please click below:

https://citizenlab.org/2016/08/million-dollar-dissident-iphone-zero-day-nso-group-uae/

https://motherboard.vice.com/read/government-hackers-iphone-hacking-jailbreak-nso-group

From a security perspective, Apple devices are regarded as being more secure than a majority of Android ones, especially with security measures implemented by Apple in favour of users. It is important, however, that people are not complacent - update security measures on your devices; update the latest patches; download apps only from official vendors i.e. the Apple App Store and Google's Play Store; do not automatically click on links or open attachments in messages from people you do not know, or whose email addresses you do not recognise.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill (PECB) has now become a reality. The National Assembly has approved a flawed and highly problematic drafted bill, and making it law.

This incarnation of the PECB had taken onboard a number of amended provisions that took onboard civil society input, but some of the most frightening and draconian provisions have still not been removed.

Digital Rights Foundation's Executive Director, Nighat Dad, said that "The cyber crime bill is a disaster that is being allowed to envelop the country. Our lawmakers have gone ahead with deeply problematic provisions despite being told time and again what the consequences may be."

This is a bill that has been roundly condemned by respected international and Pakistani human rights organisations and rights experts, including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye. In December 2015, David Kaye wrote that if adopted,

"The Bill would also set penalties that would be disproportionate to the infractions and could serve, in practice, to stifle the right to freedom of expression.”

The law contains provisions that violate freedom of expression, and most people still have no idea as to what the law holds for them, how it will impact their lives. The terms and definitions that populate the bill, such as that for “cyberstalking”, have been defined so loosely, that they can be interpreted extremely broadly, ensnaring anyone. The government and the designers of the bill have not taken steps to make people aware of the bill and its consequences, thereby ensuring that Pakistani citizens are now vulnerable and at risk from a heavily flawed and punitive bill.

The bill has been framed countless times as ostensibly protecting the people of Pakistan from cyberterrorism, hate speech, and other electronic crimes. In reality, however, the manner in which the bill defines each is exasperating in its vagueness, and lack of nuance or understanding of freedom of expression rights of Pakistanis.

One provision, Section 34, gives the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) generous powers to remove or block access to information, as it sees fit,

“if it considers it necessary in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality”

The PTA has thus so far not demonstrated that it is capable of making such a decision, one that has serious ramifications for the democratic right to the freedom of expression in Pakistan, in a manner that takes into account what the consequences can and will be. In the past blanket bans that have been instituted under the garb of “morality”’ have ended up creating more problems than fixing them. For instance, doctors lost access to valuable and vital online content that related to anything having to do with the female anatomy.

This legislation has been framed as protecting the people. The reality is that it can be used to heavily censor the internet that Pakistanis are familiar with, to ensure that democratic discourse in Pakistan loses another safe space. The state will not need to step in and intimidate people to refrain from the “wrong sort” of speech online: the draconian penalties described in the bill will do the government’s work. It ensures that what safe spaces the minorities of Pakistan had found online will cease to exist, or come under heavy fire. People that were afraid of taking to the streets would use the internet and social media to make sure that their voices were heard. When this safe space is taken away by a state that purports to be protecting them, where else can they and others go?

There has been a degree of apathy and exhaustion. The belief that the law will not be implemented anyway, so why all the fuss? The fuss is that it retains the very great potential of being abused by many people, given its overly broad language and heavy penalties. It can be used to curb freedom of expression that would call truth to power, rather than help the people as the bill’s supporters claim. It is that potential for encroaching abuse and overreach of powers that Digital Rights Foundation and others have been fighting against.

The Government of Pakistan has said that this legislation is meant to protect Pakistanis. The reality is that it criminalises the fundamental rights that are enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan, taking the nation further down the path to total surveillance, and the lost of freedom.

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016, passed on August 11, 2016.

A few days ago, the newly appointed Chief Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, created a Whatsapp group, with the express purpose of keeping an eye on the daily activities of members of the Sindh Assembly’s cabinet (who have been added to the group) and to stay up to date on their tasks.

At first glance, this is a fairly innocuous and useful decision by the Chief Minister - it appears to save time and money on the part of taxpayers; it is a more efficient and effective means of getting Sindh’s lawmakers to coordinate matters; default end-to-end encryption ensures that their conversations are protected. Pakistan’s government is not known for its adoption of new technology, contrary to oft-repeated announcements to the contrary. In light of that, would this not be a good move?

There are problems however, once we look more closely at the situation.

One issue, for instance, pertains to the backing up of Whatsapp conversations and media. While conversations themselves are encrypted, and assuming that members of the group are indeed aware that their conversations will be backed up, the backup formats used - depending on the device used - lead to their data being exposed. iCloud (for Whatsapp on iPhone) and Google Drive (for Android users) can allow Whatsapp conversations to be accessed in plain text format, as outlined here. Usage of Web Whatsapp - a feature that lets you read and type Whatsapp messages through a desktop or laptop browser - furthermore, ensures that messages shared can be read if the computer itself is available to anyone with access.

Access to information is a key factor here, especially in regards to who should or should have it. People that have shared documents et al in the group and have downloaded them to their devices will still keep them on said devices if they leave the group or indeed the government, whether by choice or by dismissal.

Public access to information is also impacted by total reliance on closed communication solutions like Whatsapp. The minutes of physical meetings held by government departments, can be accessed by the public if post on their respective websites under the proactive disclosure - virtual group meetings cannot be, unless a member of a Whatsapp group decides to provide the information themselves.

The Chief Minister is not the only lawmaker to utilise Whatsapp or other forms of messaging apps; it is more than likely that Whatsapp, Blackberry Messenger, Skype etc are being used, whether for official communications or for personal matters. What must be taken into account, by lawmakers is that if they support legislation like the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill - which has the potential to severely impact the privacy and freedom of expression rights of millions of inhabitants of Pakistan - they too run the risk of their privacy being under attack. Decades of harsh military rule have over the years resulted in the imprisonment of activists and politicians in the past, who are now respected members of the government, in part because of their freedom of expression and their right to privacy being violated.

Low-cost smartphones, fairly affordable data and internet packages, and open-source mobile operating systems in the form of Android have ensured that more people in Pakistan and across the globe have access to the internet and digital services than even a decade ago. As of May 2016, there are more than 133 million mobile subscribers in Pakistan. In this context, it is important for lawmakers to embrace newer technologies, in order to not just communicate more effectively with the public, but to also ensure that there is greater transparency of governmental procedure, and greater appreciation for the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.

This post was written by Hamza Irshad & Adnan Ahmad