EQualitie

EQualitie logo

Type

| Not-for-Profit
Industry| Technology
Human Rights
Press Freedom
Founded| 2011; 14 years ago (2011) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Founder| Dmitri Vitaliev
Headquarters| 5333 av. Casgrain, Suite 102,

Montreal

Canada

Area served

| Worldwide

Key people

| PETER (CENO Developer)
ANTON (Machine learning developer)
RODNEY (Systems Administrator)
VENNY (Operations & Finance Manager)
KEVORK (CTO)
Products| Internet security
Internet censorship
circumvention
Services| DDoS mitigation
Digital security
Website| equalit.ie

eQualitie is a Canadian digital security and DDoS mitigation Not-for-Profit organisation focused on the development and distribution of free, open-source software, services and security training to Civil society, NGO’s, investigative journalists and independent media to protect and promote human rights and press freedom online.[1] Founded in 2011 by veteran digital security trainer [2], researcher [3] and journalist [4] Dmitri Vitaliev, the group is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

## Contents

* 1 Software and services
* 2 Deflect
* 2.1 History
* 3 External links
* 4 References

## Software and services[edit]

Principally known for its DDoS mitigation and Content Delivery Network service Deflect, the group also provides circumvention tools for users operating inside National Intranets, privacy tools for group chat, and digital security training to activists and journalists. They have also become known for assisting site owners defending themselves against Social engineering attacks.[5]

The company distributes the code for all its tools on Github and frequently publishes detailed reports on the performance of these tools and services[6]

## Deflect[edit]

Deflect is an open source website security infrastructure developed and maintained by eQualitie. Its primary function is to protect sites from distributed-denial-of-service attacks (DDoS) using a network of reverse proxy caching servers and attack mitigation tools.

### History[edit]

Deflect was the first DDoS mitigation service built specifically for protecting independent media and human rights content online. The initiative was created in response to an influential report[7] by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society which highlighted the prevalence of DDoS as a means of political repression and censorship, and recommended practical methods to protect sites from future incidents. Launched in 2011, it predates similar services such as Qurium, Project Shield and Project Galileo. The company claims to serve approximately 2% of the population connected to the Internet on an annual basis [8]

The Deflect service became more widely known in 2016 through its defence of the activist group Black Lives Matter [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] in the US and Kotsubynske[15] [16]in Ukraine during a series of high-profile attacks on their respective websites. Other instances of online harassment against which Deflect has received recognition for protecting websites include the Gamergate[17], the 2012 Rakhine State riots[18], the 2013 Iranian presidential election[18], and the FIFA corruption conspiracy [18]. eQualitie has also been acknowledged [19] by the think tank and media organsation Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa for its help, contributed to a UN report on digital safety for journalists [20] and regularly participates at the Internet Governance Forum[21]

eQualitie is a member [22] of the Association for Progressive Communications and works closely with fellow members on digital security and DDoS mitigation.

## External links[edit]

* eQualitie official website
* EQualitie on Linkedin
* EQualitie on Facebook
* EQualitie on Twitter
* Deflect
* Censorship.no - National intranet and restricted network circumvention tool
* eQualitie Github Page
* DDoS Independent Media and Human Rights \- 2010 Report by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society

## References[edit]

1. ↑ "eQualit.ie Manifesto".
2. ↑ "Cyber security training for journalists: Tips and tricks to keep your communications safe". European Federation of Journalists. January 22, 2015.
3. ↑ "Journalists: protect your computer today in case it's stolen tomorrow". International Journalists' Network.
4. ↑ "Dmitri Vitaliev | The Guardian". the Guardian.
5. ↑ https://ijnet.org/en/story/free-web-hosting-service-aims-protect-journalists-cyberattack
6. ↑ "Deflect Labs reporting".
7. ↑ "Report: "Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Against Independent Media and Human Rights Sites" | Berkman Klein Center". cyber.harvard.edu. January 6, 2011.
8. ↑ "Deflect in 2016 – an overview".
9. ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/black-lives-matter-ddos-cyberattack-equalitie-deflect-1.3901111
10. ↑ "Report: Black Lives Matter Website the Target of More Than 100 DDoS Attacks". The Root.
11. ↑ Brandom, Russell (December 14, 2016). "Anonymous groups attacked Black Lives Matter website for six months". The Verge.
12. ↑ Staff, Ars (December 14, 2016). "The DDoS vigilantes trying to silence Black Lives Matter". Ars Technica.
13. ↑ Daileda, Colin. "Black Lives Matter website hit with more than 100 DDoS attacks this year". Mashable.
14. ↑ "How hackers tried to knock blacklivesmatter.com offline". December 14, 2016.
15. ↑ https://news.vice.com/article/the-activists-on-the-forefront-of-ukraines-cyberwar/
16. ↑ "Федорук користується послугами Інтернет-тролінгу Росії?". October 20, 2016.
17. ↑ "Attacks on social movements increase online, tech support comes to the rescue | Association for Progressive Communications". www.apc.org.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Testimonials — Deflect Documentation 1.4.0 documentation". docs.deflect.ca.
19. ↑ Caucaso, Osservatorio Balcani e. "eQualitie supports OBCT and online press freedom". Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso.
20. ↑ https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000232358
21. ↑ "IGF 2019 Onsite Participants List". Internet Governance Forum.
22. ↑ "APC members in 2017: eQualit.ie at work on Deflect Labs: Online attack forensics for civil society empowerment | Association for Progressive Communications". www.apc.org.

This article "EQualitie" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.