Best Digital Security Practices When Traveling: Protecting Your Sources and Other Sensitive Information
Monday, April 27, 2026 3-4 p.m. ET/12-1 p.m. PT.
This training will walk through keeping sensitive information digitally safe during all stages of your travel: arriving at a destination, staying at a location, and returning home. We’ll discuss how to reduce the chances of your information being compromised when going through security checkpoints, when staying at unknown lodging, and when heading out and about at your destination. Secure methods for collecting and storing field materials such as source interviews and other audiovisual elements will also be covered.
Outrunning the Surveillance State: Choosing Safe Software Alternatives
Webinar – TBD
Reliance on U.S. “big tech” is more dangerous than ever. From the 2013 Snowden revelations to a Trump inauguration studded with Silicon Valley billionaires, the case for “opting out” of the surveillance apparatus has never been stronger.
In this one-hour session, digital security specialist Robert Flummerfelt will discuss safer alternatives to “big tech” cloud services, communications software, operating systems, and more, helping participants reduce or eliminate their reliance on companies known to collaborate extensively with the U.S. Government.
This workshop will be presented by the Press Freedom Defense Fund, and will be led by Robert Flummerfelt.
Robert Flummerfelt is an award-winning investigative journalist and a specialist in digital security and surveillance self-defense. He has provided training and consultation on state surveillance and information security for journalists, activists, and civil society organizations operating under conditions of extreme repression and surveillance, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Palestine, Uganda, the United States, and elsewhere, supporting newsrooms including The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and others.
Owing to the ever-evolving nature of the contents, our training sessions are not recorded. Instead, we may offer repeat sessions of the same topics at future dates. We ask that you not record the sessions, including by not bringing any AI or other recording, transcription, or note-taking bots into the session. Any such bots will be removed from attendance.
Past Trainings
An Overview of Device Protection From Government Raids
Webinar – Monday, February 9, 2026 3-4 p.m. ET/12-1 p.m. PT.
The recent FBI raid of a Washington Post reporter’’s home is only the latest episode in the Trump administration’s ever-intensifying crackdown on the press and whistleblowers. It is more important than ever that journalists know how to protect themselves and their sources from a raid or device seizure. In this one-hour session, digital security specialist Robert Flummerfelt will discuss critical countermeasures that ensure sensitive data is encrypted, hidden, and inaccessible in the event that your devices are seized.
This workshop will be presented by the Press Freedom Defense Fund, and will be led by Robert Flummerfelt.
Robert Flummerfelt is an award-winning investigative journalist and a specialist in digital security and surveillance self-defense. He has provided training and consultation on state surveillance and information security for journalists, activists, and civil society organizations operating under conditions of extreme repression and surveillance, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Palestine, Uganda, the United States, and elsewhere, supporting newsrooms including The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and others.
Owing to the ever-evolving nature of the contents, our training sessions are not recorded. Instead, we may offer repeat sessions of the same topics at future dates. We ask that you not record the sessions, including by not bringing any AI or other recording, transcription, or note-taking bots into the session. Any such bots will be removed from attendance.
Securing Your Devices Against Raids, Seizure, and Surveillance, Part 2: Securing Your Computers
Webinar – Friday, February 6, 2026 3-4 p.m. ET/12-1 p.m. PT.
Government raids, mass surveillance, and targeted spyware pose more of a threat to journalists and whistleblowers now than ever. As the Trump administration’s crackdown on the press and civil society intensifies, protecting the devices you use to review documents, conduct research, and communicate with sources is critical. In this in-depth, one-hour session, digital security specialist Robert Flummerfelt will walk attendees through securing their laptop and desktop computers, covering device protection from raids, techniques to defend against malware, and software tools to use for communications with confidential sources and collaborators.
This workshop will be presented by the Press Freedom Defense Fund, and will be led by Robert Flummerfelt.
Robert Flummerfelt is an award-winning investigative journalist and a specialist in digital security and surveillance self-defense. He has provided training and consultation on state surveillance and information security for journalists, activists, and civil society organizations operating under conditions of extreme repression and surveillance, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Palestine, Uganda, the United States, and elsewhere, supporting newsrooms including The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and others.
Owing to the ever-evolving nature of the contents, our training sessions are not recorded. Instead, we may offer repeat sessions of the same topics at future dates. We ask that you not record the sessions, including by not bringing any AI or other recording, transcription, or note-taking bots into the session. Any such bots will be removed from attendance.