Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recently developed a Russian-language training guide on digital safety for independent Russian journalists and media workers in exile.
Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) “Digital Safety Guide” is a handbook specially developed for regime-critical Russian journalists and media workers living outside the Russian Federation. Suitable for both people with limited knowledge of digital device usage and advanced users, this guide compiles a collection of “digital hygiene” basic principles.
It explains how to protect devices and accounts from hacking and data theft, and how to safely use email services, messaging apps and social networks as well as digital services directly connected to the Russian state (“Yandex,” “Sberbank,” “Tinkoff,” etc.). It also provides recommendations on how to prepare a smartphone before a cross-border trip to Russia.
This handbook was created in collaboration with the journalists whose needs it answers. It emerged as a rapid response to the digital and analog security threats faced by independent Russian journalists in the world, including those operating in Germany where this guide was developed.