Become Your Newsroom’s Digital Security Expert

Note: On-demand courses are fee-based, allowing us to sustainably support our team and trainers while continuing to provide free, high-quality investigative journalism training opportunities worldwide.

Digital threats to journalists are no longer theoretical. Doxing, phishing, compromising devices, and source exposure are daily realities and newsrooms usually lack of someone dedicated to security. Or they do have someone, but this person lacks resources and training. This intensive, two-session workshop transforms a motivated journalist into their newsroom’s go-to digital security resource, combining threat modeling, hands-on tool practice, and a train-the-trainer approach.

Dates: July 6 – July 7, 2026

Time: 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT; two hours per session (four hours total)

Format: Live online (interactive)

Participants: 22  |  Level: Basic (no technical background required)

Trainer’s Bio: Luis Assardo is a data investigative journalist, OSINT researcher, and digital security trainer based in Berlin and founder of Confirmado (Guatemala’s first collaborative fact-checking project) and the Vector Crítico newsletter. He collaborates with RSF, ECPMF, GIJN, and the EU Knowledge Hub on Radicalisation. His work has been cited by The New York Times, The Intercept, and CPJ. He has been recognized with a ESET Security Award laureate (2018, 2025) and the IJNet Journalist Award (2019). He has spoken at GIJC, ARIJ, and Privacy Camp and trains from personal experience as an exiled journalist who has survived doxing and targeted harassment.

Training Modules

Session 1:  Know Your Threat, Protect Your Ground (June 6, 2026)

Module 1.1 – Threat Modeling

Five-question framework to map adversaries, assets, and attack vectors before choosing any tool. Live worksheet exercise.

Deliverable: a personal one-page threat model.

Module 1.2 – Account & Device Hardening

Phishing anatomy, hardware 2FA keys, password managers, full device audit. Participants harden their own accounts live.

Deliverable: a personal accounts hardening checklist.

Module 1.3 – Secure Source Communications

Source protection lifecycle: secure intake, metadata risks, compartmentalization. Case study: real source exposure events.

Key Resources and Tools

• EFF Surveillance Self-Defense
• Security-in-a-Box (Frontline Defenders)
• CPJ Safety Advisory
• Digital Footprint Analysis tools
• Password Managers
• Secure Messaging Apps
• Secure Workspaces
• Tool: WebScan
• Tool: SecHealth
• Tool: AI security automatization

Session 2: Operational Security & Becoming the Expert (June 7, 2026)

Module 2.1 – Reducing Your Digital Footprint

OSINT self-audit using adversary techniques. Data broker opt-outs, GDPR Art. 17 & 21, identity compartmentalization, and defensive reading of deanonymization pipelines.

Module 2.2 – Incident Response

Tabletop exercise: account compromise, doxing, border crossing with sensitive material. Evidence preservation, 60-minute triage checklist, escalation contacts.

Module 2.3 – Building a Security Culture

Train-the-trainer module. Newsroom security audit canvas, risk in editorial language, 30-min internal session design.

Deliverable: each participant’s Security Action Plan.

Key Resources and Tools

• IntelTechniques
• Privacy Guides
• Access Now Digital Security Helpline
• CiviCERT
• Hunchly (evidence capture)
• GIJN Digital Security Hub
• Freedom of the Press Foundation training
• RSF Journalist Security Guide
• Tool: journalist footprint scanner (open-source, CLI/web)
• Tool: personalized incident response card generator
• Tool: newsroom security audit canvas (open-source web tool)

GIJN offers tailored training programs designed for journalists and newsrooms with specific needs. On-demand courses are fee-based, allowing us to sustainably support our team and trainers while continuing to provide free high-quality investigative journalism training opportunities worldwide. Email academy@gijn.org to book a session or discuss your project or if you are interested in designing a fully customized training program for your newsroom. For more free trainings, please visit: gijn.org/academy.