Digital security in war and conflict: challenges for civil society and tools for resilience

May 19 @ 9:00 am – 10:00 am ET / 3:00 PM CET

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Actors engaged in humanitarian protection and human rights now recognize digital- related harms as a component of war and conflicts. Humanitarian organizations, as well as other actors that intervene and support, like private companies and civil society, are reorienting their work to support individuals and communities to stay safe online in the context of armed conflict and humanitarian crises.

As part of the Digital Security Helpline’s efforts to address this complex challenge, we will host a webinar that focuses on the specific threats and challenges for civil society. The webinar will take place on May 19, 2026, at 9:00 am EST (15:00 pm CEST, 21:00 pm Philippines and Western Indonesia).

This event is part of “Safe and strong”: a webinar series on digital security, an initiative of the Digital Security Helpline to bring together civil society, private sector partners, and other support organizations, to discuss how to increase resilience in the digital age.

Registration is available here.

“SAFE AND STRONG”: A WEBINAR SERIES ON DIGITAL SECURITY

is an initiative of the Digital Security Helpline to bring together civil society, private sector partners, and other support organizations, to discuss how to increase resilience in the digital age.

Speakers: 

Mahsa Alimardani is the Associate Director of the Technology Threats & Opportunities program at WITNESS. She has over a decade of experience working at the intersection of digital rights, freedom of expression, and emerging technologies, leading research and advocacy on digital repression and contributing to the design and development of technologies that serve the most vulnerable.

Jocelyn Woolbright serves as a Program Manager on Cloudflare’s Public Policy team, where she oversees initiatives to protect human rights defenders, journalism organizations, and state and local governments online. Her work includes conducting digital security training and providing threat briefings to civil society groups on emerging cyberattacks that target vulnerable populations worldwide.

Mia Marzotto is the Digital Rights Advocacy Lead at Oxfam. She is part of the project management unit of a multi-year multi-country program, connecting community-level action, policy influence, and corporate accountability on digital rights. Her past roles include working with The Signals Network on whistleblower protection and with Translators without Borders on humanitarian and development policy influencing. Mia holds an MA in International Affairs from The New School and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex.

Luis Barrueto is the Administrative and Communications Coordinator at Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline, where he provides across-the-board project support to the team offering 24/7 digital security assistance. His previous background in the Americas includes as founder of an LGBTQ+ activist organization in Guatemala and as a strategic communications and advocacy advisor to human rights organizations in Central America, Mexico, and Colombia.

Giulio Coppi (moderator) is the Senior Humanitarian Officer at Access Now. He has over 15 years of international experience across the humanitarian, human rights, and academic sectors. He has worked with NRC, ICRC, OCHA, and OHCHR, among others, and has experience responding to crisis contexts in several countries. At Access Now, Giulio is responsible for monitoring and advising on digital rights in the context of conflict and disaster; advancing protection from digital harm through international humanitarian law norms, customs, and principles; and promoting ethical approaches to the design and delivery of technological systems by private companies.

PREVIOUS SESSIONS

[March 10, 2026]

[March 10, 2026] Spear phishing: how to stay safe and prevent advanced attacks against civil society

Speakers:

• Rebekah Brown, a threat intelligence expert and author.
• Justin Albrecht, a principal threat researcher at Lookout. 
• Mykola Kostynyan, a digital security capacity building project designer and manager.
• Marilou Maala, a Security Incident Handler.
• Mohammed Al-Maskati (moderator) the Digital Security Helpline Director at Access Now.

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