Masaar (Community for Technology and Law) held a webinar on Tuesday, May 5, on “Tools and Applications of Digital Security in Remote Work”. This discussion is the first of a series of discussions entitled (8 bits) which Massar aims to organize during the coming period. Ahmed Mekkawy, director and founder of Spirula Systems and Mohamed Tita, director of systems and servers, participated in the discussion. The webinar covered a set of tools and applications that can be used by individuals and companies at work, and the discussion focused on the privacy and digital security provided by the applications. Speakers presented a set of tools and applications that covered the following topics:
The speakers suggested some tools and tips that provide a degree of privacy and security while managing and browsing email:
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ProtonMail is a mail service and one of the secure options that provide end-to-end encryption.
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Thunderbird software is one of the secure programs for browsing and managing emails on desktop computers, and it works on Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac operating systems.
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K-9 Mail and FairEmail are one of the secure programs for browsing and managing emails on Android smartphones.
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The two speakers also discussed the encryption protocol (GPG), which is one of the most important encryption protocols used with email, and they drew attention to the use of (ProtonMail) for the encryption protocol (GPG) in communications between users.
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The speakers suggested using Enigmail software to use GPG with various email services, which is an extension that works with Thunderbird software and can be used on Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac operating systems. The speakers also discussed the OpenKeyChain application to use the encryption protocol (GPG) for Android smartphones.
Software and applications for chatting
The speakers discussed the secure applications and software that provide group chat or one-to-one chat, and they suggested the following:
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Speakers recommended the use of the Rocket. Chat software for group chat among the corporate team, because it provides multiple options for security and privacy, as well as its cost would be less than relying on other similar services, such as (Slack).
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Riot was also suggested as an application for group chatting between staff, and it is a chat application based on the Federated Matrix protocol.
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Signal and Wire applications were recommended by speakers to chat and communicate between individuals as one of the safe options that provide end-to-end encryption.
Video meetings and conferences
The speakers addressed some of the safe tools that enable individuals and companies to make group video calls that can also be used to conduct open web discussions (Webinars). The speakers focused on:
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Jitsi software is one of the easy to use options that can be used, as it provides end-to-end encryption.
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Nextcloud Talk is one of the applications of the Nextcloud software that provides many options that companies, and individuals need in conducting meetings via the web.
Project management and file sharing
Speakers focused on the tools and options offered by Nextcloud Software and Kanban Project Organization.
Nextcloud software is considered one of the most important and effective tools in managing work as it provides multiple services such as file sharing, joint editing, group chatting, task management and backup.
Also (Kanban Project Organization) is considered one of the most important software, that helps project managers and their teams visualize their workflow and cooperate better by providing tools for distributing resources efficiently and conveniently and following up project completion tasks in an appropriate way.
About speakers:
Ahmed Mekkawy
Founder and executive director of Spirula Systems Company. The company offers solutions in the field of server protection, cloud computing, enterprise rescue and DevOps automation solutions, as well as software solutions for the needs of organizations. Mekkawy is also one of the founders of the Egyptian Free Software Association, an Egyptian non-profit organization, and one of the founders of the GNU/Linux Egypt users community (EGLUG community), and in 2014 he participated in the Egyptian Strategy for the Transition to Free Software as an independent consultant to the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. He has also worked on many projects related to managing and securing numerous web platforms, such as the Egyptian elections, e-commerce platforms and popular news portals.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/linuxawy
Website: https://www.spirulasystems.com
Mohamed Tita
A technologist and systems and server manager, Tita is interested in the free software movement and enabling individuals and communities to use technology. In the recent period, he focuses on providing free and open source technology-based solutions to news organizations.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/notmtita
Blog: https://blog.mtita.me