Migrants’ Security in the Era of Modern Communications

The migrant crisis in Europe has continuously highlighted the crucial need for better access to communication technology for people on the move, from mapping their journeys and finding the most convenient route, to connecting to the Internet when arriving in every new place in order to contact their loved ones, to ask for money transfer, etc. In the situation that they are, they are overexposed on the internet and thus they became an easy ’pray’ for the malicious ‘predators’ that take advantage of their vulnerable situation. After the Covid-19 outbreak and the social distancing protocols, the migrant’s online lives became even more exposed. For example, the only free legal aid was by using the online services and social media. Easy access to makes them an easy target for malware attacks, phishing, ransomware, identity thefts, spam, hate speech and hate crimes, data breach, unlawful use of personal data etc. This presentation aims to show the impact of the IT technology on the migrants’ lives, the facilitating role of the communication technology on the migrants’ plans but also the ‘dark side’ on the IT technology when it comes to their security