Cyber-attack on Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 - COFAVIC
On 20 March 2017, the website of the Venezuelan human rights organization Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 - COFAVIC (Committee for the Families of Victims of February-March 1989) was attacked by hackers.
Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 - COFAVIC (Committee for the Families of Victims of February-March 1989) is a Venezuelan non-governmental organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights. The organization was founded in 1989, following a time of social instability in Venezuela which led to a series of demonstrations around the country and clashes with the State security apparatus, resulting in more than 600 people killed. Due to their work, COFAVIC and members of the organization have been targets of attacks, threats, smear campaigns, monitoring and surveillance, as well as judicial harassment.
On 20 March 2017, the website of the Venezuelan human rights organization Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 - COFAVIC (Committee for the Families of Victims of February-March 1989) was attacked by hackers.
COFAVIC is a Venezuelan non-governmental organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights. The organization was founded in 1989, following a time of social instability in Venezuela which led to a series of demonstrations around the country and clashes with the State security apparatus, resulting in more than 600 people killed. Due to their work, COFAVIC and members of the organization have been targets of attacks, threats, smear campaigns, monitoring and surveillance, as well as judicial harassment.
On 20 March 2017, the website of COFAVIC was attacked by hackers. The staff of the organization were unable to view the content or manage the website. Following the assistance of digital security experts, after four hours, COFAVIC regained access to their website. The attack was perpetrated within the context of COFAVIC’s participation, alongside other Venezuelan human rights organizations and human rights defenders, in the 161st session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (17-22 March 2017), specifically their participation in the public hearing about "Right to the truth and report of the Commission for Justice and Truth of Venezuela". Between 7 and 17 March 2017, several other organizations in Venezuela reported cyber-attacks on their websites.
This is not the first time COFAVIC has been targeted by hackers. On 20 December 2016, the organization’s website suffered a similar attack. This cyber-attack was a reprisal to a report published on 9 December 2016 by COFAVIC concerning killings in the states of Sucre and Miranda during October and November that year. The organization demanded that the Venezuelan government immediately investigate the crimes.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has previously granted provisional measures in favour of members of COFAVIC and other organizations.
Front Line Defenders is concerned at the cyber-attacks carried out against COFAVIC and other human rights organizations, as it believes the acts against them are directly linked to their legitimate work in the defence of human rights.
