The Military Reporters and Editors association and Northwestern University’s Medill National Security Journalism Initiative are co-sponsoring a one-day seminar, “Cyber Security Skill Workshop for Journalists: Sending Secure Email,” to be held April 3, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Northwestern University newsroom in Washington, D.C.
In dealing with the threats of today’s cybersecurity environment all journalists should equip themselves with the skills needed to protect their sensitive digital reporting information. With recent scandals such as the NSA leaks and with foreign governments actively targeting journalists, journalists need to mitigate the threats to their privacy.
The skills that will be covered during the full-day workshop include:
- Fundamentals of PGP Encryption
- How to use secure email communication with sources.
- Best Practices in Information Security
- How to avoid censorship and Anonymize Internet Research
- Encrypted instant messaging, video chat, audio chat
- Mobile Phone Security Essentials
- Securely Storing and Transferring your files
- Configuring your laptop to send encrypted email and to digitally sign a message
- Effectively managing passwords
The event’s leader will be Aaron Rinehart, the founder and CEO of TestBed Inc., a firm that specializes in IT Consulting, Managed IT Services, and Information Security. Aaron has consulted on IT issues for organizations such as the Defense Department, Homeland Security, NASA and the College Board. A former U.S. Marine, he served in the Middle East and Africa during Operation Enduring Freedom. Aaron has been a guest at various media outlets including the National Press Club and ABC News KCMO Channel 9. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, SANS GIAC Certified security professional, and holds a B.S. in Business Administration/Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Event details:
Time/date: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., April 3
Location: 1325 G St NW Suite 730, Washington, DC 20005.
Limit 30 participants.
Lunch will be served.
Fee: $25
Please RSVP with payment to Tiffany Roberts by March 23
- Phone: 202-661-0107
- Email: tiffany.roberts@northwestern.edu
About the event sponsors:
Military Reporters and Editors is a nonprofit association dedicated to advancing public understanding of the military, national security and homeland defense; to educate and share information with its members and the public on best practices, tools and techniques for such coverage; to represent the interests of working journalists to the government and military; and to assure that journalists have access to places where the U.S. military and its allies operate.
The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, begun in January 2009 with the support of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, offers a sequence of courses that equip graduate and undergraduate journalism students with the knowledge and skills to report on national security issues in ways that have relevance and meaning to a variety of audiences, undertakes an annual investigative project with 10 students and a media partner, sponsors an conference for journalist to get a series of briefings on the most pressing national security issues and to share ideas on covering them. It also provides training and background materials on nationalsecurityzone.org as well as webinars to enhance its outreach to working reporters around the country.
