Updated 23/12/2024. Time has moved on and the type of threat journalists face has evolved since I last compiled this list in 2023. It is more important than ever to protect yourself online. A range of resources are available to help – some of which are offered here. NB. Important to note that inclusion is not a recommendation – the list is for your information – it is up to you to pick the resources best suited to your needs.
Updated 17/05/2023. This page is an attempt to compile some of the online resources available to help journalists improve their online security (originally published 15/07/2015).
You need to take online security seriously
That journalists need to think about such matters is not in doubt – there have been more than enough revelations from Edward Snowden, the UK Hacking Inquiry, the European Parliament Inquiry into surveillance (2014) and more.
Many of the techniques outlined below are commonsense for anyone working online in the 21st century, and some are relatively simple to do. However they cannot be recommended, since as one Guardian expert commented at an NUJ/Guardian conference in 2014, if every journalist started using one technique, the spooks would give that method special attention.
So, if you think your role as a journalist is similar to that of a shipwreck survivor, adrift on a raft in an ocean of hungry sharks, your assessment is probably about right. Consider that those sharks probably include the state security agencies, foreign spies, criminals, under-employed young people and assorted neer-do-wells, and you’ll be in the right frame of mind to start improving your cyber security.
Here’s some background: shoeman.eu/: The Control Culture – stories that reflect the pre-occupation of governments with surveillance and control of their citizens
But no guarantees can be offered! Good luck, and see you when you reach the shore …
The List
- WizCase: “The Ultimate Guide to Online Privacy for Journalists” I don’t know this organisation, but there are some useful recommendations here
- EFJ: Cyber security training for journalists: Tips and tricks to keep your communications safe
- European Parliament: How to protect your privacy online
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Surveillance Self-Defence – Tips, Tools and How-tos for Safer Online Communications – (highly recommended, as very much the leading edge)
- Front Line Defenders: Journalist Security Guide
- Security in a Box – communication security tips and tricks from Front Line Defenders
- CPJ: Technology Security – a chapter from the Journalist Security Guide, from the NYC-based Committee to Protect Journalists
- Journalist? Secure your communications, or pay the price – review of the book “Deep Web for Journalists”, by Alan Pearce
- Intercept: Encrypting Your Laptop Like You Mean It
- How to encrypt your hard drive – a useful and simple guide for Windows, Mac and Linux from https://www.cloudwards.net/
- Intercept: How to really chat securely while online – highly recommended
- PasswordManager.com With more and more of our lives spent online and the need to keep different passwords for different activities, Password Manager apps are growing in popularity. This US-based company has some useful guides.
© Philip Hunt 2023
