The Digital Security Training track currently offers a variety of courses covering the most salient and pressing issues facing journalists and technology in the current day. FPF offers courses in 90-minute, 3-hour, and full-day formats; in order to accommodate organizations requiring for more flexibility in scheduling. Some courses include hands-on activity; which include setting up new software, brainstorming exercises, or simulated interactions within our custom training environment.

FPF can also assist your organization by building custom training modules to address a particular set of tools, workflows, or sensitive topics. We try to stick to the allotted time for each module, but are flexible enough to handle troubleshooting, deeper learning through Q&A, or even intense discussion; depending on group dynamics.

Digital Security 101 — 90 minutes

Topics include:

• Threat modeling
• Account security
• How the internet works for and against us
• Why encryption matters
• Hardening Chrome and Firefox

This course is also available as a webinar.

Advanced Topics in Digital Security — 3 hours

Topics include:

• All topics covered in Digital Security 101, with increased focus on operational uses for tools introduced
• Introduction to file-based encryption
• End-to-end encryption and chat mastery
• Travel preparation

Risky Research — 3 hours

Topics include:

• Hardening Chrome and Firefox
• Browsing securely on desktop devices
• Browsing securely on mobile
• Using Tor
• Open source tools for “open source intelligence”
• Air gapping and sandboxing protocols

Tails for Beginners — 3 hours

Topics include:

• Intro to Tails
• Sandboxing research with Tails
• Amnesiac mode vs. Persistent mode
• Software additions for investigations

Qubes for Beginners — 3 hours

Topics include:

• Leveraging vaults, work, and personal domains
• Customizing the network stack
• Working with peripherals
• Software additions for investigations

Travel Ready — 90 minutes

Topics include:

• Threat assessments per region
• Internal and external communication strategies
• Thwarting the "Evil Maid"
• Data compartmentalization
• “Burner” devices
• Region-specific connectivity challenges

This course is also available as a webinar.

Travel Ready — 3 hours

Topics include:

• All topics from the 90-minute course, with hands-on assistance in setting up devices.

Doxxing Prevention and Response — 3 hours

Topics include:

• Locking down social media
• Protecting your phone
• OSINT and how doxxing actually works
• Fighting data brokers
• Protecting your personal life on the web

This course is also available as a webinar.

Source Communication and Protection — 3 hours

Topics include:

• Tackling the first-contact conundrum
• End-to-end encryption in communication
• Understanding communication metadata
• Understanding document metadata
• Lawsuits, indictments, and learning from contemporary history
• Recording media safely

Working with Metadata — 90 minutes

Topics include:

• Metadata in images
• Metadata in office documents and PDFs
• Metadata Analysis tools
• Being realistic about redactions, and best practices

Working with Metadata — 4 hours

Topics include:

• All topics from the 90-minute course, with hands-on assistance in setting up devices.
• Participatory exercises in metadata redaction and analysis
• Building a metadata toolkit

Encrypt all the Things — 90 minutes

Topics include:

• Full disk encryption on desktop
• Full disk encryption on mobile
• Encrypting peripherals
• Encrypting file-based partitions
• Strategies for sharing encrypted media

Encrypt all the Things —3 hours

Topics include:

• All topics from the 90-minute course, with hands-on assistance in setting up devices.

Extreme Connectivity — 3 hours

Topics include:

• How mobile carriers operate
• Why VPNs are important, and how to choose one
• What happens when the internet is censored, throttled, or unavailable
• Mesh networking
• Using satellite phones as securely as possible

SecureDrop for Journalists — 3 hours

Topics include:

• Tails crash course
• Successful air gapping protocols
• Handling document metadata

Interested in scheduling a training with our staff? Let us know via our contact form.