DIGITAL NEWSROOMS BULLETPROOFING

•  JORGE LUIS SIERRA •  KNIGHT INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM FELLOW

•  INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR JOURNALISTS

HOW TO PRODUCE HIGH RISK STORIES IN HIGH RISK ZONES

PHYSICAL ATTACKS RESTRICTIVE LAWS LEGAL AGGRESSION CENSORSHIP ESPIONAGE CYBERSTTACKS

HOW TO STAY SAFE?

SECURITY STRATEGY = RISK ANALYSIS

KNOW THE TARGET – BE MORE EXPENSIVE

KNOW THE AREA – MAPPING RISK

KNOW YOURSELF – RISK ASSESSMENT – USE SALAMA.IO

BULLET-PROOF YOURSELF – SECURITY PROTOCOLS, NETWORKS

BULLET-PROOF YOUR STORY – STRONG VERIFICATION

BULLET-PROOF YOUR NEWSROOM – PHYSICAL -- DIGITAL

USE SALAMA.IO RISK ASSESSMENT

RISK ANALYSIS

BULLET-PROOF YOURSELF

▸  What is my risk score? Use Salama: https://salama.io/

▸  What are my main vulnerabilities and capacities?

▸  Is there something in my personal life that can make me vulnerable?

▸  Do I need additional training to do this story?

▸  What is the support of my media organization?

DIGITAL NEWSROOM BULLER-PROOF

RISK ANALYSIS

BULLET-PROOFING THE DIGITAL NEWSROOM

▸  Protect your information: Confidentiality, Integrity, Accessibility

▸  What are the vulnerabilities= pentesting, Salama.io

▸  What are the organizational capacities?

▸  Analyze adversaries (governments, spies, criminals?)

▸  Design a security strategy and support a budget

▸  Security policy, best practices and technologies

▸  OWASP and ISO 27001

KNOW THE AREA MAPPING RISK

RISK ANALYSIS

UNDERSTAND YOUR AREA

▸  Are there patterns of attack to journalists and media organizations?

▸  Are violent actors holding territory? = http://www.osrx.org/

▸  Are there organized crime gangs operating in the area?

▸  Do terrorist organizations have operations there?

▸  What is the relationship of local governments with journalists and media organizations?

STORY BULLETPROOF YOUR

HOLISTIC APPROACH

PROTECT YOUR STORY

▸  Use full verification methods

▸  Careful selection of sources

▸  Verify authenticity of your documents

▸  Verify every piece of data, name, date

▸  Investigate what denies your hypothesis

▸  Give your target the right to speak

TEAMWORKER BECOME A

HOLISTIC APPROACH

LEARN HOW TO WORK WITH OTHERS

▸  Set up a good communication with your editor

▸  Ask advice to other colleagues

▸  Plan well ahead your story with your editors, data analysts, multimedia designers

▸  Keep your family and friends informed

▸  Connect to human rights organizations

EXPENSIVE BE YOURSELF MORE

HOLISTIC APPROACH

UNDERSTAND THE RELATION WITH THE TARGET

▸  The target will analyze what is more expensive: to attack or not to attack you

▸  The more professional and prepared you are, the more expensive you will be

▸  Enhance your capacities, get support from your community, connect to your audiences

▸  Being more expensive is a good way to deter attacks

NETWORK EXPAND YOUR

HOLISTIC APPROACH

SECURITY IS A COLLECTIVE ACTION

▸  Create networks of support or become part of one

▸  Use social media to increase your profile

▸  Participate in your own community ▸  Use the Reporta app

PROTOCOLS SET YOUR

HOLISTIC APPROACH

ALWAYS OPERATE TO REDUCE RISK

▸  Check in often with your network of support

▸  Encrypt all your devices and sensitive information

▸  Use encryption to communicate with sources

▸  Organize all the community around you to act quickly in case of an emergency

▸  Keep your distance with sources

HARM REDUCE

HOLISTIC APPROACH

REDUCE HARM TO YOUR TARGET

▸  Always try to minimize the harm you will cause to the target of your investigation

▸  Include the target's points of view, if possible

▸  Always publish only verified information

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED MORE ADVICE, DON'T HESITATE TO CONTACT ME

Jorge Luis Sierra @latinointx

MY CONTACT INFORMATION