With the rise of remote work, it’s important to remind staff and volunteers working from home or in the field use secure practices, such as using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and secure home Wi-Fi networks. (see staff awareness section) Cyber Attack Detection Methods • Enable continuous monitoring of the IT environment that includes (desktops/workstations, remotely connecting devices, cloud services, firewalls or any other security tools) • Open source solutions (e.g. OSSEC or SNORT) can be used to detect network threats. • Free security tools available in the market are ClamAV and Wireshark. These are helpful in detection and in monitoring and analysing network traffic • Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) tools help organisations monitor, detect and alert on anomalies or possible cyber-attacks. For cloud-based services – AlienVault OSSIM has a free SIEM. • Microsoft Defender is a built-in windows tool and offers basic protection against malware and is effective for small organisations. Managing Data Breaches Identifying a Data Breach A breach can be either accidental or deliberate. A common accidental breach would be a member of staff emailing an attachment with names and addresses to the wrong person who shouldn’t have that information. Deliberate breaches are as varied as the motivations of the actors involved. In the context of HRDs, NHRIs may face attempts by government-sponsored actors to gain access to HRD personal information. If you become aware that the personal information of HRDs has been breached – whether it occurred by accident or deliberately, assess the likelihood and severity of harm to individuals whose personal data was affected. Consider factors like the type of data (e.g., sensitive personal information, location information, financial data), what person or organisation is likely to be in possession of it, if known, and whether it is likely to be misused. Notification Procedures Some countries will have laws about notifying the affected individuals or privacy regulators about data breaches where there is a risk of serious harm. This may not be relevant for all circumstances. Mitigation Measures It is best to understand how and what occurred to stop any additional harm from occurring. For example if there has been a hack, it is important to get expert advice on immediately fixing the security gap the hackers have exploited, and then move to addressing the underlying issue so it doesn’t happen again. Data Protection Guidelines for NHRIs Toolkit 20