On 8 October 2025, the Internet Society Nepal Chapter (Open Internet Nepal) marked Global Encryption Day with a high‑energy, half‑day event at Vivanta Kathmandu.

With 55 participants from law, technology, academia, media, civil society, and the private sector, Global Encryption Day Nepal 2025 turned a complex technical topic—end‑to‑end encryption (E2EE)—into a public conversation about freedom, safety, and rights in Nepal’s fast‑changing digital ecosystem.

The event’s theme captured the stakes clearly:

“Encryption and Digital Privacy: Securing Nepal’s Digital Future.”

Why Talk About Encryption Now?

As more of life in Nepal moves online—banking, messaging, health records, political organizing—the question of who can read our data has never been more important. At the same time, governments around the world are debating laws that could weaken encryption or demand special access to private communications.

Global Encryption Day Nepal 2025 set out to answer three key questions:

1. What exactly is end‑to‑end encryption?
2. Why is it essential for privacy, security, and human rights?
3. What happens if we create “backdoors” or weaken it in the name of security?

A Program That Mixed Education, Interaction, and Action

The event was intentionally designed to be interactive and accessible, even for people without a technical background.

1. Multi‑Stakeholder Panel: Encryption, Law, and Rights

A central feature of the program was a panel discussion that brought together:

• Cybersecurity specialists, who explained how E2EE keeps data safe in transit and why vulnerabilities—no matter how small—are quickly exploited.
• Legal experts, who unpacked how encryption connects to constitutional rights, ongoing legislative proposals, and law‑enforcement practices in Nepal.
• Digital rights advocates, who highlighted global trends where demands for “lawful access” have led to overreach, surveillance, and self‑censorship.

The panel emphasized that security and privacy are not opposing goals; strong encryption is a foundation for both.

2. Youth‑Led Lightning Talks: Encryption in Everyday Life

To make the topic relatable, the program featured youth‑led lightning talks under the banner “Encryption in Everyday Life.”

Young speakers shared short, powerful stories showing how:

• Encrypted messaging apps protect activists, journalists, and vulnerable communities
• Students and workers rely on secure channels to share sensitive documents
• Families count on private chats and calls that cannot be intercepted

These talks helped demystify encryption, proving that it is not just for experts—it is for anyone with a smartphone.

3. Live Demo: How E2EE Works (and How Backdoors Break It)

An interactive demonstration walked participants through:

• How messages are encrypted on one device and decrypted only on the intended recipient’s device
• What it means when a service truly offers end‑to‑end encryption versus only “encryption in transit”
• How building backdoors or “exceptional access” mechanisms creates a single point of failure that attackers, criminals, or abusive actors can target

Seeing the process in real time helped participants understand why there is no such thing as a backdoor “only the good guys can use.”

Encryption as a Digital Right in Nepal

Throughout the event, a clear message emerged:

Strong encryption is a fundamental digital right for everyone in Nepal.

It protects:

• Freedom of expression and association, allowing people to organize, report, and dissent safely
• Economic security, by keeping financial and commercial data safe from theft and manipulation
• Personal dignity and safety, especially for women, LGBTQ+ people, and marginalized communities who face greater risks of harassment and abuse

By bringing together technologists, academics, civil society, industry representatives, and youth, Global Encryption Day Nepal 2025 helped build a shared understanding that weakening encryption ultimately weakens everyone’s security.

Looking Ahead

For Open Internet Nepal, organizing Global Encryption Day is part of a larger effort to:

• Promote strong, uncompromised encryption by default
• Build public literacy about digital privacy and security tools
• Engage lawmakers and regulators so that future policies protect, rather than undermine, encryption

As Nepal continues to draft new laws on cybersecurity, digital platforms, and surveillance, the conversations started at this event will be critical in ensuring that people’s rights stay at the centre of digital governance.