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News > Science and Tech

Security Device for Colombian Human Rights Defenders Could Endanger Them

  • The devices have been distributed to around 400 people deemed

    The devices have been distributed to around 400 people deemed "low risk." | Photo: AFP

Published 28 March 2017
Opinion

There are fears that the panic button could be hacked. 

Faced with ongoing threats of violence, human rights defenders and media professionals in Colombia have been given GPS enabled panic buttons which they can use to alert authorities when they feel threatened. While the devices have been given to hundreds working in dangerous areas, there are fears that the technology could actually be used against them, The Associated Press reported.

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Around 400 human rights defenders and journalists in the country were given the palm size safety device by Colombian Office of National Protection, designed to alert authorities of their location in the event of a kidnapping or attack.

Operating through a wireless network, the device has a microphone and GPS tracking software and notified round the clock security in Bogota who then can call the user and then notify police if the user is in danger.

However, the panic devices have a number of technical weakness, such as being susceptible to hacking, allowing other parties, including potential attackers, to track movements, eavesdrop and disable the device, according to an audit completed by security firm Rapid7 for AP.

"This is negligent in the extreme," Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, told the AP, calling the finding "a tremendous security failure."

According to the security audit, dangerous third parties could obtain the phone numbers linked to the devices and then switch off or even reconfigure them remotely. The microphone could also be easily activated remotely through a text message.

The Chinese manufactured device is marketed as EV-07 and is reportedly used to track children, old persons and family pets. A user manual, which details how to reset the device, is also available via the manufacturer's website.

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In August, there were reports that many users were not told about the inbuilt microphones and as a result had stopped using them. However, Diego Mora, Director of the Office of National Protection, said that modifications had been made to ensure that microphones could not be used to spy on users.

Authorities have downplayed the security concerns of the device arguing that only the government knows to whom the devices are given. Those who were given the devices were seen as a low risk, where outsiders would have little interest in spying on.

Despite Mora saying that the devices are “for people whose risks aren’t very complex,” those who have been targeted say their vulnerabilities should not be underestimated and other measures such as being given body armor are not enough.

As the Colombian government and the FARC slowly implement peace in the country, smaller right-wing paramilitaries have been filling the power vacuums left by the FARC. With a lack of state protection, human rights leaders, and campesino and Afro-Colombian communities in rural areas are increasingly vulnerable.

Mexico, which is known as the most dangerous country for journalists in Latin America, has also issued similar panic devices to journalists and human rights leaders since 2013. However, there have been complaints over the devices' reliability, particularly in areas with poor phone signal. Many have criticized the devices when their use is based on a trust invested in state authorities.

At least 48 journalists were killed in Mexico in 2016 and 72 in 2015, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Reporters Without Borders said in February that Mexico is now the most dangerous country in Latin America for journalists.

Other international organizations such as Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders have also issued similar devices. In Brazil, a mobile WhatsApp channel called DefeZap has been developed to allow citizens in Rio de Janeiro to report state violence.

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