Building a Culture of
Security
Staying Safe on the Internet
Introduction
When using the internet on your phone or computer, your activity can say quite a bit about you. It is important to keep sensitive information – like usernames and passwords that you type into a website, your social media posts, or in certain contexts even the names of the websites that you visit – out of the view of prying eyes. Having your access to certain sites or apps blocked or restricted is also a common concern. These two problems – internet surveillance and internet censorship – go hand in hand, and the strategies to reduce their impacts are similar.
Surveillance, Censorship, and Parliaments
Unfriendly governments and other threat actors across the globe are using increasingly accessible surveillance technology, and in some cases simple Wi-Fi hacking, to monitor the online activity of MPs and others working in parliament. For instance, hackers stole data from European parliamentary staff and visitors by spoofing the Parliament’s public Wi-Fi network in 2013. A preview of much more sophisticated attacks in years to follow.
In addition to hijacking internet traffic and stealing data, adversaries also disrupt critical parliamentary operations by blocking internet access and systems. In Brussels, Belgium’s parliament was knocked offline by a massive denial of service attack in May 2021. The attack forced the postponement of some debates and committee meetings, as users could not access the virtual services required to take part in the session.
The increasing frequency of such attacks on access to and freedom of information online highlights just how essential it is for parliaments to understand the risks of operating on the internet and develop plans for how to connect when connectivity is impacted.