Source: HRO.org (info), 23/09/12

· Freedom of speech

These days, corporate websites and major independent media outlets are not the only victims of DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks. NGO online resources are also increasingly becoming targets. These attacks can put websites out of action for days, and often throw the targeted organizations into disarray. But are we really so defenceless against these cyber-threats?

“Civil society organizations are facing serious cyber-threats, the most common being DoS (denial-of-service) attacks. These attacks are more frequently being turned against websites run by NGO organizations and private individuals. Often, these civil organizations do not enjoy the resources or technical facilities that are at the disposal of corporate and governmental websites, and, moreover, they are often struggling to survive in a hostile political environment, where all means, both legal and illegal, are employed against them. That's why it's highly unlikely that DoS attacks will simply stop by themselves in the near future.”

These are the opening words of a manual for NGOs produced by the American organization Access. This publication was issued at the beginning of this year, but is every bit as relevant now.

Click here for the Russian translation of the Access manual (in PDF).

HRO.org has released further guidance to this manual covering issues specific to the Russian context and organizational-technical issues (in PDF).

An article by the Agora Association provides guidance on the legal implications of this issue.