Deflect.ca

Deflect is a DDoS mitigation and website security service by eQualitie, a Canadian social enterprise developing open and reusable systems with a focus on privacy, resilience and self-determination, to protect and promote human rights and press freedom online.[1]

Deflect.ca
TypeSocial Enterprise
Industry
Founded2011 (2011)
FounderDmitri Vitaliev
Headquarters
Montréal
,
Canada
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsInternet Security, Managed Hosting, Web caching
Services
Websitedeflect.ca

History

Deflect was founded by digital security expert and trainer Dmitri Vitaliev [2] and Canadian internet entrepreneur David Mason[3] in 2011. The Deflect project predates similar initiatives by Google's Project Shield and Cloudflare's Project Galileo. The initiative was created in response to an influential report[4] by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society which highlighted the prevalence of DDoS as a means of political repression and censorship against independent media and human rights groups around the world, and recommended practical methods to protect websites from future incidents. The company claims to reach approximately 2% of the population connected to the Internet on an annual basis[5]

Deflect offers free services to many civil society organizations and commercial plans for small business and enterprise.[6]

In 2016, the Deflect team released its first investigative report into attacks against a Ukrainian independent media website. ""On the 2nd of February, the Kotsubynske website published an article from a meeting of the regional administrative council where it stated that members of the political party 'New Faces' were interfering with and trying to sabotage the council's work on stopping deforestation. Attacks against the website begin thereafter."[7]

Also in 2016, CBC[8] noted that Deflect thwarted DDoS attacks for Black Lives Matter. Investigations led by the Deflect team to discover the methods and provenance of over a hundred separate incidents against the Black Lives Matter website, were noted in The Verge,[9] Ars Technica [10] and BoingBoing.[11]

In 2019, the Deflect team discovered a persistent cyber offensive campaign against Uzbek human rights activists, leading to a more detailed study by Amnesty International.[12] Other instances of intervention for which Deflect has received recognition for include the Gamergate,[13] the 2012 Rakhine State riots,[14] the 2013 Iranian presidential election[15] and the FIFA corruption conspiracy.[16]

In 2017, Scott Neigh, host of podcast Talking Radical Radio,[17] spoke with founder Dmitri Vitaliev about how Deflect.ca defends social movements against digital threats.

By 2020, the Washington Post[18] reported that Deflect.ca was protecting over 500 vulnerable civil society organizations.

See also

References
  1. https://equalit.ie
  2. "Cyber security training for journalists: Tips and tricks to keep your communications safe". European Federation of Journalists. 2015-01-22. Archived from the original on 2015-04-04. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  3. "David H. Mason - home page". Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  4. "Report: "Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Against Independent Media and Human Rights Sites" | Berkman Klein Center". cyber.harvard.edu. January 6, 2011.
  5. "Deflect in 2016 – an overview".
  6. "Deflect clients". Deflect.ca. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  7. Ling, Justin (March 29, 2016). "The Activists on the Forefront of Ukraine's Cyberwar". Vice News.
  8. Braga, Matthew (December 19, 2016). "How Canadians are keeping Black Lives Matter website online". CBC. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  9. Brandom, Russell (December 14, 2016). "Anonymous groups attacked Black Lives Matter website for six months". The Verge.
  10. Ars Staff (December 14, 2016). "The DDoS vigilantes trying to silence Black Lives Matter". Ars Technica.
  11. "How hackers tried to knock blacklivesmatter.com offline". December 14, 2016.
  12. "Targeted Surveillance Attacks in Uzbekistan: An Old Threat with New Techniques". 12 March 2020.
  13. "Attacks on social movements increase online, tech support comes to the rescue | Association for Progressive Communications". www.apc.org.
  14. "Testimonials". deflect.ca. 18 November 2020.
  15. "Testimonials". deflect.ca. 18 November 2020.
  16. "Testimonials". deflect.ca. 15 April 2021.
  17. Neigh, Scott (February 8, 2017). "Defending social movements against digital threats". Rabble.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-02-27. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  18. Hsu, Spencer (July 31, 2020). "Trump administration is crippling international Internet freedom effort by withholding funds, officials say". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
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