Tips and Tools to Protect Yourself Digitally • John Scott-Railton

In this masterclass video, John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the Citizen Lab, shares practical steps investigative journalists can take to reduce digital risks while working on sensitive stories.

The session walks through concrete actions reporters can take to better protect their devices, communications, and accounts. These include securing smartphones with features like Apple’s Lockdown Mode or Android’s Advanced Protection, improving privacy settings on Signal and WhatsApp, and strengthening accounts with safer authentication methods.

Railton also highlights trusted resources that journalists can contact if they suspect they are being targeted. The key message: small security steps can significantly reduce vulnerabilities and help protect both reporters and their sources.

• Interview: Sarah Ulrich
• Video Editing: Quentin Egloff
• Music: Lionel Marçal
• Filming: Ron Lopez – Reynald Ramirez – Hashim Hakeem
• Supervision and Coordination: Sandrine Rigaud
• Special thanks: Glenn Chong
• With the support of The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung