Human Rights Watch is deeply saddened by the death on June 3, 2026, of Carola Frediani at the age of 51 following a long illness. Carola was an information and security technologist at Human Rights Watch and a longtime journalist. She was regarded as an authoritative voice on the relationship between technology, security, and digital rights. Click to expand Image Carola Fredani. “Carola was a valued and beloved member of the close-knit information security team at Human Rights Watch, and her loss will be deeply felt,” said Philippe Bolopion, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Her passing is a significant loss for the organization, and especially for those who worked most closely with her.”Carola spearheaded guidance and awareness about cybersecurity at Human Rights Watch. She brought her journalist's clarity, rigor, and curiosity to digital security education, and believed deeply that helping staff understand threats was one of the organization’s most powerful security tools. She built training programs, created practical guidance for high-risk situations, and worked across teams to translate evolving threats into clear, actionable advice. She helped embed a culture of security and care across the organization.She also served as co-chair of Human Rights Watch’s Wellbeing Task Force.“Many people knew Carola as one of the most respected investigative journalism voices in cybersecurity, digital rights, and surveillance,” said Abir Ghattas, chief information officer at Human Rights Watch. “She had the ability to understand not only technology itself, but how it affected people: journalists, activists, researchers, and human rights defenders around the world, and what they can do about it.”Carola, a native of Genoa, Italy, was the author of several publications, including “Guerre di Rete” (Network Wars), a journalistic account on the front line of cybercrime, cyberespionage, surveillance, and privacy. She founded a newsletter and website of the same name, which the Italian newspaper La Repubblica said, was “a must-read for all industry professionals, researchers, and numerous enthusiasts, eventually counting over 13,000 subscribers.”She had worked in cybersecurity positions with the fashion retailer Net-A-Porter Group and the Italian news agency Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, and as an investigative journalist at the Italian newspaper La Stampa. She also worked for the Totem news agency and for Amnesty International, and founded the Effecinque news agency with other colleagues. Carola held a degree in Italian literature from the University of Genoa and a master's degree in Italian Literature from the University of Pittsburgh. She also held an Erasmus scholarship at the University of Amsterdam.She was the winner in 2021 of the Arrigo Benedetti Journalism Award for outstanding contributions to journalism, in 2016 of the Igor Man award from La Stampa for cybercrime reporting, and in 2015 the Civil Liberties Award for journalism from the Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights.Human Rights Watch offers its deepest condolences to Carola Frediani’s family and friends.