As part of our work within the spyware network, The Engine Room collaborated with Fundación Acceso to investigate the psychosocial impact of spyware attacks and develop resources to strengthen support and accompaniment. Together, we created two key documents:
- A research report that highlights, not only the technical risks, but also the psychological and social toll of spyware attacks, from anxiety and isolation to fractured communities.
- A ‘Psychosocial Support Guide for Spyware Attacks’, which offers guidance to organizations and individuals who want to provide holistic support to communities affected by spyware.
Reflecting on this process, our team spoke with Jacobo Mogollón, Coordinator of the Digital Protection Area at Fundación Acceso, and Gabriela Vargas, psychosocial support consultant at Fundación Acceso. We asked them about the psychosocial approach and their experience integrating it into digital accompaniments.
This conversation is for anyone involved in or interested in providing holistic accompaniment to people and organizations affected by spyware, for example, digital security trainers, security team leaders, organization leaders, or funders who want to integrate this lens into their programs.
What is psychosocial support?
Jacobo: Applying a psychosocial approach to spyware attacks means seeing the person affected through multiple dimensions. It’s not only about the individual incident or the device. It’s about understanding the person as part of a wider social, political, and historical context.
This means we can’t only focus on technology, hardware, or information management. We also need to attend to people’s well-being and how they relate to their surroundings and communities. This approach extends beyond individuals, recognizing their collective dimensions, such as their role within organizations, social movements, communities, families, and other relationships.
In this way, the psychosocial approach enables more holistic support that does not simply aim to resolve a single problem but involves an ongoing accompaniment process with people at the center.
How and why did the team at Fundación Acceso develop this approach?
Jacobo: During digital accompaniment, people often shared not only technical issues but also their personal fears, stories, and concerns about surveillance, threats, or violence. We quickly realized we didn’t have the tools to respond adequately and, in some cases, felt overwhelmed by the emotional weight of these situations.
It became clear that technical support could not be separated from the social and emotional realities of the people we accompany.
To respond, the team created referral lists, built partnerships with other organizations, and recognized our own limits. Over time, we strengthened the skills of staff without psychosocial support backgrounds so they could better identify when to listen, when to refer, and how to accompany without causing more harm. This process helped us build a grounded, sensitive approach that balances technical assistance with respect for human and collective dimensions.
As someone providing psychosocial support, what technical aspects have been key to understand the impact of spyware attacks?
Gabriela: Working closely with Jacobo helped me understand how spyware operates technically. It’s both fascinating and terrifying how quietly and invisibly surveillance enters devices.
When people learn their devices have been compromised, they often feel immense distress. From the psychosocial side, I help people recognize the depth of this impact and find new meaning in their experience. Spyware’s sudden and rapid invasion can intensify emotional harm. People don’t just feel vulnerable, they are profoundly violated.
This emotional impact is very different from situations where people have some sense of control. Understanding the digital risks helps me collaborate on strategies that reduce harm while providing the emotional support these situations require. That is my role in the accompaniment process.
Jacob, as a digital security trainer and accompanier, what makes psychosocial support essential in responding to spyware attacks?
Jacobo: In digital security and accompaniment, we often lose sight of the emotional and social dimensions of people’s experience: their fears, tensions,persecution, censorship, or even online violence. Every situation is different, and we must act with sensitivity and care to avoid causing further vulnerability.
The psychosocial approach does not replace clinical psychological care. Instead, it enriches digital accompaniment by providing a more human and holistic perspective. It asks us to recognize the realities human rights defenders face, often in violent contexts, and to provide support that includes technical, emotional, and collective aspects.
It also reminds us to care for those providing accompaniment. Strengthening our tools, setting boundaries, and building organizational capacities protects everyone involved.
Gabriela, as a psychosocial support expert, how can someone in a technical role center care in their accompaniments?
Gabriela: Digital security staff often become the first point of contact and unintentionally offer emotional support. Equipping them with basic tools for active listening and emotional containment improves accompaniment and strengthens their own self-care, because emotional support can affect them deeply. Recognizing this dual impact is essential.
Jacobo: Our accompaniment is rooted in empathy. This goes beyond active listening. It means respecting people’s rhythms, valuing their knowledge, and understanding where their needs come from.
We prioritize what is shared and agreed upon in the relationship—not just impose what technical experts think is best. We co-create the accompaniment plans, and we stay attentive to people’s preferred communication methods and timing. This helps them remain capable and confident in managing their circumstances.
It also requires sensitivity to cultural diversity and multiple identities. Empathy and listening are skills we develop through training; they are not simply innate. A shared toolkit grounded in organizational values helps maintain consistency and encourages continuous learning.
How can psychosocial support and technical experts come together to collaborate on more holistic processes?
Gabriela: Teams need space for dialogue and exchange knowledge. Psychosocial teams must understand the scale and impact of digital surveillance and spyware to better understand the experiences of the human rights defenders we accompany. Digital security providers, in turn, need to appreciate emotional support. Not clinical therapy, but recognizing the role they play in helping defenders and organizations cope.
Working in multidisciplinary teams and strengthening referral networks is vital. Psychosocial accompaniers can refer to digital security networks, and digital security teams can do the same. Some cases require expertise beyond one team’s capacity, so strong networks help provide timely and appropriate support. This collaboration ensures that people receive the right support at the right time, respecting each team’s limits and strengths, and improving overall care.
Do you have any final recommendations for those implementing these forms of support?
Jacobo: Care must include, not only those receiving accompaniment, but also those providing it. Working in challenging environments, where personal safety is at risk, leads to emotional strain. Care means recognizing limits and creating safeguards to maintain well-being, dignity, and security.
Gabriela: It’s vital to understand what affected individuals are feeling. Their needs go beyond solving technical problems. They need a trustworthy environment where relationships can grow and strengthen. Initial distrust is common, given people’s experiences. That’s why building trust, connection, and community is essential. This is what our organizations aim to contribute.
We invite you to dive into these resources and continue the conversation with us. The research report and the Psychosocial Support Guide for Spyware Attacks offer insights into the technical, emotional and collective dimensions of spyware. Whether you’re a trainer, community member, organizational director, or a funder, these materials offer tools and reflections to strengthen holistic care in digital security work.
We would like to thank Jacobo, Gabriela, and the whole team at Fundación Acceso for their collaboration; consultants Olga Alicia Paz and José Luis Dardón for leading the research and content development; and the Latin American organizations, Social Tic (México), R3D (México), Maria Lab (Brasil), y Colectiva OxChe (Argentina), for generously sharing their time and knowledge.
You can access all the contents here: https://www.acceso.or.cr/proteccion-digital/
Our collaboration with Fundación Acceso
Fundación Acceso is a Central American organization that promotes digital protection and comprehensive physical, technological, and psychosocial support for human rights defenders in the region.
In July 2024, Fundación Acceso and The Engine Room began collaborating to research the psychosocial impacts of spyware attacks faced by defenders in Latin America, and to identify strategies for timely, holistic support.
The Engine Room contributed research and technical support to produce two main outputs:
- A qualitative report exploring the psychosocial dimensions of digital surveillance against human rights defenders, justice operators, and journalists in Latin America.
- An accompaniment protocol with methodological strategies that integrate psychosocial support tools in caring for individuals and organizations affected by spyware and surveillance technologies.
Jacobo Mogollón is the Coordinator of the Digital Protection Area at Fundación Acceso, Costa Rica, Latin American techno-activist and digital advocate.
Gabriela Vargas is a psychologist specialized in psychosocial support and human rights, with experience across Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2022, she has served as a psychosocial support consultant at Fundación Acceso.