Explain to participants what malware is, and review a few of the types of malware that exist – at a minimum, it is recommended to cover the following:
Ransomware and keyloggers are increasingly common types of malware encountered by women human rights defenders in Latin America; if you are working with a group of women from that region, these will be important to address. Likewise, in general, make sure to include case studies and examples of malware that are commonly encountered in the context of the participants attending your training.
Explain some of the most common ways that devices become infected with malware, and the unsafe practices that can lead to such infections. It is also important to explain the different purposes or motivations behind malware deployments:
Some malware is broadcast on a wide-scale with no particular target;
Other kinds are specifically targeted at activists, journalists or dissidents to gain access to their data or communications;
Still other kinds are targeted at individuals known to be connected to a number of activists, journalists or dissidents in the hope of infecting multiple targets across a network.