Start protecting your security and privacy in the age of mass surveillance with how-to guides and resources. Want to learn more? Reach out to set up a training workshop with our digital security experts.

From the EFF
Surveillance self-defense
Modern technology has given those in power new abilities to eavesdrop and collect data on innocent people. Surveillance Self-Defense is EFF's guide to defending yourself and your friends from surveillance by using secure technology and developing careful practices.

From FPF
Phishing prevention and email hygiene
Journalists and newsrooms are increasingly being targeted through their email. Virtually every "sophisticated" hack of an individual reporter or entire news organization starts with a relatively simple attack: phishing and spear phishing. Prepare yourself for this eventuality with our email hygiene guide.

From FPF
What to do if your phone is seized by police
So, you’ve been arrested at an event. You’re taken to the police station and your phone is confiscated. When you’re let out, you realize someone has gone through your digital belongings. What now?

From FPF
Everything you wanted to know about media metadata, but were afraid to ask
Take a crash course in some of the tools you can use to analyze, manipulate, and scrub media metadata.

From FPF
Three types of passphrases
From song lyrics to rolling dice, here's a quick reference guide for making it easier to choose a safe passphrase based on the devices and applications you're using.

From FPF
An in-depth guide to choosing a VPN
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an essential tool for protecting your online activity. Figuring out which VPN to use and finding security among the snake oil can be a challenge. This guide will show you what to look for.

An FPF Guide
Your smartphone and you: A handbook to modern mobile maintenance
If there’s one item in your possession housing the most information about you, it’s probably your phone. Keeping your information safe depends on learning a little more about how to choose your small computer, and how to care for it long term.

An FPF Graphic
Mobile security tips: How to respond to confiscation and compromise
While attending an organized action, your mobile device is at risk of being tampered with by authorities. You can minimize the consequences of a mobile phone confiscation by following the steps in our visual guide.

An FPF Guide
Locking down Signal
Concerned about the privacy and security of your communications? Follow our guide to locking down Signal.

An FPF Guide
Taking private photos with Signal
Normally when you take a photo on your smartphone, the photo is copied to the camera roll, making it available to other apps and backup services. By sending photos within Signal you can ensure your most sensitive photos are only visible to the person you send them to.

From FPF
Verifying open source software
In this guide, we walk you through verifying the legitimacy of an open source software package before installation. As the old adage goes, "Check yo sigs before you wreck yo gigs."

An FPF Series
Encryption toolkit for media makers: An introduction
For media makers working in film, journalism, and the arts, data protection is essential. Learn how you can use encryption to build up your defenses, and protect your work.

An FPF Series
Encryption toolkit for media makers: Disk Utility guide
Disk Utility, available exclusively on macOS machines, is optimized to create encrypted spaces on both your computer and external storage devices.

An FPF Series
Encryption toolkit for media makers: A VeraCrypt guide
VeraCrypt, an open source tool available on all major operating systems, is well-suited to meet the data encryption needs of virtually any media team.

An FPF Guide
Encryption toolkit for media makers: BitLocker To Go guide
BitLocker is Microsoft’s file encryption solution for Windows. In addition to offering full disk encryption, it also features BitLocker To Go, which lets you encrypt external storage drives.

An FPF Guide
Two-factor authentication for beginners
One of the best ways to secure your accounts during login is to require a second factor — a second piece of information — beyond the password.

An FPF Guide
ProtonMail like a pro
ProtonMail is a Switzerland-based email client that offers end-to-end encryption between its users by default. We cover some of its more advanced uses and configurations, and tackle some of its main issues head-on.

From FPF
Encrypting email with Mailvelope: A beginner's guide
The browser extension Mailvelope provides users with a simple and accessible means to encrypt the content of their emails. This guide features the essentials you need to get started with your own Mailvelope setup.

An FPF Guide
An in-depth guide to choosing a web browser
Prioritize privacy and security when surfing the web. Most of your internet usage happens through a web browser, so it's important to pick one that defends you online. In this guide, we'll go over different browser features, and which ones you should look for.

An FPF Guide
Responding to a password breach while preparing for the next one
If you've ever been notified of a data breach involving your credentials for a website or app, you may already know that you need to change your password for that account. In this guide, we'll dive into why your password needs to change and what to change it to in order to prepare for the next breach.

An FPF Guide
Pretty great privacy with PGP smartcards
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is an open standard for encrypting and signing data, including email, between two PGP users. In this guide, we’ll go through the process of securely generating, storing, and using a PGP key pair in a hardware token.
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Security Blog
Our Digital Security Team discusses arrests of U.S. journalists in 2020
Freedom of the Press Foundation recently released a report detailing a record number of arrests throughout 2020 based on comprehensive data gathered by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a …
Security and privacy tips for journalists in a moment of turbulence
The environment in the U.S. surrounding digital security threats to journalists is evolving. The country navigates a presidential election in the midst of a pandemic, all while another wave of …
U.S. election security incidents were minimal — and now it gets messy
Technology journalists and security experts have warned for years of risks to U.S. election infrastructure. In recent years the common wisdom of the security community held that hack-and-leak operations, exemplified …