About Infuse

Infuse is a community-developed framework providing pathways for digital protectors (digital security trainers, technologists, auditors, etc.) to advance their knowledge and skill sets in areas of specialized technical expertise (STE). Infuse aims to make much-needed STE more widely available in contexts where at-risk communities need it the most, by upskilling protectors who already have established trust with these communities. By localizing expertise, Infuse expands accessibility to and increases the diversity of providers of specialized digital security support.

Infuse provides digital protectors who are looking to upskill with in-depth learning paths covering different areas of STE, each associated with a badge demonstrating completion. The learning paths consist of guidance on how to best approach learning the associated area of expertise along with recommended resources. The paths each cover a variety of modules and include practice exercises, as well as skill check exercises. The paths also integrate guidance on how areas of STE are relevant to and may be used to support at-risk communities. Learn more about how the learning paths work here. Another key element of Infuse is peer learning, mentorship, exchange, and skill validation. By design, Infuse is a decentralized model, meaning that no single entity is in charge of providing mentorship and verifying whether a Learner (someone navigating the content) achieves a badge. This means that Infuse can also be used as a means of connecting with other digital protectors to aid in learning, whether they be Mentors (digital protectors who already hold expertise in a particular area providing support to Learners) or peers learning the same area of expertise. Learn more about connecting with community and mentorship here.

Infuse is community-developed and owned. At its core, the framework was developed based on premises, ideas, and feedback identified through interviews, focus group discussions, workshops, and sprints with dozens of digital protectors and members of the Internet Freedom community from across the globe. From 2023 to 2024, a coalition of organizations, Conexo, DefendDefenders, Internews, and Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA), led the development and piloting of the Infuse framework (comprising the first six learning paths). Some of the core values which guided the development of Infuse have been harm reduction, accessibility, and adaptability to different contexts.

Much like how your favorite tea infuses hot water, making for a delicious, aromatic, cozy (maybe even caffeinated) beverage, we hope that Infuse will be a rich source of learning, growth, and connection for digital protectors and the communities they support. Pinkies up!

What is Specialized Technical Expertise (STE)?

Most digital protectors have a solid understanding of topics such as account security, secure browsing, device security, and secure messaging, and share this knowledge with their clients on a regular basis. The Internet Freedom community has published and localized excellent guides which cover such topics.

Specialized technical expertise (STE), on the other hand, consists of knowledge needed for more specialized, in-depth interventions and investigations, such as web security, analyzing malicious infrastructure, or investigating malware. Such areas of STE have largely not been documented and localized as comprehensively by the Internet Freedom community. Furthermore, STE requires not only knowledge but also specific skills, such as analyzing headers or logs, which require regular and in-depth practice.

Who is Infuse for?

Infuse was designed to be used by digital protectors (digital security trainers, technologists, auditors, etc.) from around the world looking to upskill in areas of STE and connect with peers who can help mentor and assess skills throughout the learning process. The learning paths are not intended for absolute beginners to digital security, and to benefit from the learning paths, Learners are recommended to possess certain prerequisite skills and areas of knowledge. You will find guidance in each learning path on what those prerequisites are alongside some pointers on resources to brush up on those topics if you feel you need to.

Infuse is also a space for digital protectors who already hold expertise in a certain area of STE to be a Mentor by providing guidance and assistance for Learners.

Additionally, any individual or organization within the digital protector community is encouraged to contribute to and maintain the framework. Learn more here.

Information for Funders

Internews has found that even highly motivated individuals can stumble during the learning phase without additional advisory or financial support to carry them through. Are you interested in supporting digital protectors from around the world as they upskill in key areas of expertise? If so, Infuse is being maintained by a coalition of three organizations, in coordination with stakeholders from the global digital protector community, which are open to funding opportunities to support Infuse. Infuse relies on funder support to:

• Maintain content and the Infuse website
• Develop new content and website features
• Support digital protector Learners in securing mentorship and resources necessary to complete learning paths

You may reach all coalition members at [email protected]
You may reach Conexo at [email protected]
You may reach DefendDefenders at [email protected]
You may reach Internews at [email protected]