Internews Europe (now Informed) Defended Global Digital Access

For more than 40 years, Informed (formerly Internews Europe) has championed press freedom and independent journalism in some of the world’s most challenging environments. But as cyberthreats, censorship, and infrastructure challenges grow, ensuring a secure, scalable, and high-performing digital presence has never been more critical — or more difficult. With Akamai Cloud, Informed ensures that its partners — including media organizations, journalists, and advocacy groups — can continue their essential work without disruption, even under crisis conditions.

Informed’s work demands the ability to adapt quickly — whether responding to political upheaval, managing simultaneous crises, or scaling up to support new media partners. Operating in some of the most challenging environments, the organization needed a flexible, resilient, and secure digital infrastructure — one that could withstand cyberthreats, censorship, and surging demand.

“To ensure readiness in this dynamic environment, our structures, systems, technologies, and processes must be as simple, integrated, and efficient as possible. Simply put, we need the flexibility to adapt quickly in the digital environment,” explained Claire Page, Director of Corporate Engagement for Informed.

For nearly 15 years, Informed has used Akamai to make this possible. While Block Storage helps ensure highly available and scalable storage capacity, Cloud Firewall and DNS Manager strengthen security and help mitigate cyberthreats. VPC also enables the organization to create secure, isolated environments for sensitive projects. “This infrastructure allows Informed to support independent media partners, keeping websites, applications, and digital resources available, secure, and high-performing — no matter the conditions,” said Page.

Akamai Cloud powers Informed’s Global Technology Hub, where it runs:

• An in-house–developed workflow that supports independent journalism projects
• Multiple websites and GitLab platforms for media development and collaboration
• The Digital Safety Help Desk Team’s issue tracker and website rehabilitation shop to assist media partners

By running these on Akamai, the nonprofit organization enables local media organizations to develop new sites, operate staging platforms, and build workflows that keep their sites updated and protected.

In environments with limited bandwidth and tight budgets, Informed needed a cost-effective solution that doesn’t sacrifice security or performance. Akamai’s low-bandwidth optimization and flexible pricing help ensure it can support media organizations in restrictive regions. "Akamai’s cost structure allows us to affordably support media partners with limited budgets, ensuring accessibility even in areas with slow or censored internet," Page noted.

The ability to integrate custom and open source tools is also critical. With Akamai, Informed can develop tailored solutions while avoiding vendor lock-in. "These features help us use and provide simple, affordable, and maintainable solutions," Page added.

Through its Global Technology Hub, Informed not only builds and maintains its own infrastructure, it also supports local media partners in defending against cyberthreats, censorship, and digital disruptions. A globally distributed team of engineers, developers, and digital safety specialists helps local organizations develop secure web applications, encrypted media storage, and internet access tools. Cloud Firewall and custom-built VPN wrappers enable journalists and independent media to bypass firewalls and securely access uncensored resources.

“In today’s digital battlegrounds, where censorship and cyberattacks seek to silence the truth, tools like VPNs with fixed IP addresses become lifelines for journalists and independent media. From exiled radio stations to women’s health information platforms, Akamai helps Informed ensure critical information remains accessible in repressive regions,” Page concluded.

Informed is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization. We support independent media, improve access to information, and champion free speech around the world. For 40 years, we have trained and mentored tens of thousands of journalists, news outlets, and technology pioneers in more than 100 countries, particularly in places where free speech has been most under threat. Find out more at informedstories.org.