Digital Security Articles & Newsletters

    Header image titled, "U.S. Journalism School Security Curriculum"

    Module: Obfuscating location

    Guide

    This module opens with an introduction to the need for location obfuscation techniques, and what a VPN does. Instructors may then talk through basics of IP addresses, Virtual Private Networks, and the Tor network. Students will be asked to install Tor and navigate to the New York Times SecureDrop .onion …

    Header image titled, "U.S. Journalism School Security Curriculum"

    Module: Authentication (Part 1)

    Guide

    This module opens with an introduction to common attacks on online accounts, and the need for two-factor authentication. It then moves on to a few activities having students investigate the security of their own passwords, and where they might set up two-factor authentication for their primary email provider. It closes …

    Header image titled, "U.S. Journalism School Security Curriculum"

    Module: Law enforcement surveillance tech

    Guide

    This section on surveillance tools used by law enforcement is discussion focused, and intends to get students to think critically about the relationship between surveillance, privacy, and transparency. It begins with lecture canvassing a variety of law enforcement surveillance technology, based on research from from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Afterward, …

    Header image titled, "U.S. Journalism School Security Curriculum"

    Module: Device protection

    Guide

    This module should be short, introducing the problem with a video, and open a discussion with students about full disk encryption and strong password protection.PrerequisitesThreat modelingEstimated time20 minutesObjectivesUpon successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to analyze the risks associated with device …

    Header image titled, "U.S. Journalism School Security Curriculum"

    Module: Mass surveillance in the U.S.

    Guide

    This section is intended to be presentation-heavy. It opens with a short video explaining the foreign intelligence surveillance court, followed by another introducing NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. The legal material can be somewhat dry, so it's especially important to focus on the surveillance capabilities outlined, followed secondarily by the authorities …

    Header image titled, "U.S. Journalism School Security Curriculum"

    Module: Malware

    Guide

    This short module opens with a short introduction to malware with a video, followed by slides with a few examples of malware targeting journalists, and finally, opening up to a discussion of how students understand the likelihood of this happening in their work, and what they should do in response. …

    Header image titled, "U.S. Journalism School Security Curriculum"

    Module: Threat modeling

    Guide

    Threat modeling is foundational to thinking through security broadly, and we therefore introduce it before several other more technical topics. We first encourage the use of physical metaphors (e.g., choosing how and where to lock a bicycle) before introducing digital applications to help beginners understand how they may already create …