Activist Rights
As a project of the Fitzroy Legal Service—Victoria’s first community legal centre—Activist Rights serves a foundational role in upholding civil liberties across Australia. The organization provides a critical knowledge base of Australian law for individuals engaged in protest, civic action, and political advocacy. Its mission is built on the belief that a fair society requires an informed and empowered citizenry, especially those seeking to create positive change through activism and protest.
“The platform allows users to explore various laws applicable to political engagement in Australia, covering topics like police interactions, going to court, and organizing non-for-profits. We hope to demystify the legal system and provide accessible, "plain language" legal information to those who may otherwise be marginalized or intimidated by complex judicial frameworks.” Jordan Brown, Activist Rights Website Designer
A primary focus for Activist Rights over the past year has been a complete transformation of how they deliver information. They transitioned from a disparate collection of blog-like pages and complex menus into a searchable, user-friendly knowledge base. This initiative was designed for high-stakes moments—such as when an individual is in police custody or facing arrest—where rapid access to legal rights is essential. By creating a "quick search library," the organization has ensured that vital legal guidance is only a few taps away for those who need it most.
Given the sensitive nature of its content and its focus on political engagement, the organization faces a threat of being targeted by malicious actors looking to disrupt their operations. Operating on limited resources with a single virtual private server (VPS), the organization’s small infrastructure is highly vulnerable to traffic spikes and malicious bots.
"We applied for Project Galileo support to secure extra protection due to the project's focus on political activism, an area frequently targeted by hackers and cyberattacks." say Brown.
For a project funded by small grants and managed by a dedicated but small team, cybersecurity isn't just a technical hurdle; it’s an existential one. Before joining Project Galileo, the organization relied on a single VPS. Without the shield of a global network, a concentrated attack or even a surge in aggressive bot scraping could easily overload their backend and take the entire site offline.
"For such a small organization, leveraging Cloudflare's global network offers both security protection and performance benefits, which is a significant win-win."
Cloudflare Products & Impact
By joining Project Galileo, Activist Rights has integrated several Cloudflare tools to harden their defenses and improve the delivery of their legal resources:
- DDoS Mitigation: Protects the organization’s single VPS from being overwhelmed by malicious traffic or network spikes that would otherwise shut down their operations.
- Anycast DNS: Provides a resilient and fast DNS infrastructure, ensuring the website remains reachable and resistant to DNS-based attacks.
- Edge Caching: Significantly increases website speed by storing content closer to the user at the "edge," reducing the load on the origin server and providing a seamless experience for users in urgent situations.
- Bot Management: Blocks malicious bots and AI scrapers that threaten to drain server resources or misappropriate the organization's verified legal data.
A Mission Protected
Project Galileo has provided Activist Rights with tools to ensure that those seeking urgent legal information during police interactions or court proceedings can access it reliably and safely.
"Without Cloudflare, we would be highly vulnerable to being hacked or silenced by noise-producing bots. Project Galileo mitigates these threats, allowing us to focus on our core mission: ensuring the law remains a tool for the people and that vital legal information stays accessible to those who need it most." - Jordan Brown
