The Digital Forensics Fellowship (DFF) is an opportunity for human rights defenders working at the nexus of human rights and technology to expand their learning on mobile device analysis and digital forensics. From 2022-2024, the Security Lab trained ten Fellows from diverse world regions during the first two years of the programme. The training curriculum included sessions on conducting threat research, doing forensic analysis of Android and iOS devices, and malware traffic analysis.
The Fellowship is a key component of the Security Lab’s work to combat the mercenary spyware crisis. Advanced technical capacity is needed in all world regions to conduct research into sophisticated digital threats, including spyware, and to support impacted human rights defenders and journalists. The Security Lab believes that by fostering a more decentralised, global, and diverse network of well-trained incident responders and investigators through the DFF and other capacity building opportunities, we can jointly contribute to more timely and effective protection of HRDs and journalists against unlawful surveillance.
The third edition of the DFF started in May 2025, following a recruitment at the beginning of the year. For more about future editions of the Fellowship, please check our website and social media accounts.