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

In this masterclass video, John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s 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.

Scott-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