This session will explore the role of cybersecurity in community networks, an often overlooked yet critical aspect of providing safe communications to vulnerable communities, and protecting the “commons” type of infrastructure. 

Community networks are very contextual, and so is the notion of security in various communities. Participants will discuss different challenges and perceptions of cybersecurity, and how to integrate those in the wider policy discussions. This includes the importance of resilience of infrastructure and of access as a whole. While security is often overlooked, this session will demonstrate that ensuring that community networks are stable, reliable, and secure is paramount. 

In the second part of the session, participants will provide concrete examples from the field, and provide guidance for community network practitioners on how to strengthen various dimensions of their cybersecurity efforts - both in terms of protecting the individuals, and protecting the infrastructure. The aim is to collect good practices on information security, infrastructure security, and cybersecurity capacity building from and for community networks.

In addition, the session will address  the importance of meaningful connectivity in the context of digital health and remote access to health information. The focus on security is highly relevant: there are many security and misinformation issues in the field of health technologies. 

The IGF 2024 session of the Dynamic Coalition on Community Connectivity (DC3) will focus on exploring the connection between community networks and cybersecurity. Session participants will provide their standpoints and share experiences and good practices to be consolidated into an exploratory paper on Cybersecurity in Community Networks, with a particular focus on securing the commons, elaborated as a 2024 DC3 Outcome.