News Organizations & Digital Security: Solutions to Surveillance Post-Snowden
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute
Friday, November 7, 2014
8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
9 a.m.: Real-World Encryption Problems. Leak investigations are at a record high and national security journalists now often work under a shadow of surveillance. By knowing the stakes and how to respond to them, reporters can assess the risks, and still keep their sources relatively safe. This panel will discuss current and future unsolved digital security problems in journalism.
Panelists will include: Dana Priest, investigative reporter, The Washington Post and John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Public Affairs Journalism at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland; James Risen, investigative reporter, The New York Times; and Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist and senior policy analyst, Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, ACLU.
10:15 a.m.: Beyond PGP, Protecting Reporters on an Institutional Level. Beyond encrypting individual email, panelists will look at the importance of utilizing the right systems company-wide to stave off hacking and other cyberattacks, as well as handing subpoenas and safeguarding sources.
Panelists will include: Martin Baron, executive editor, The Washington Post (to be confirmed); Morgan Marquis-Boire, director of security, First Look Media; Jack Gillum, reporter, Associated Press; and Nabiha Syed, associate, Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz.
11:30 a.m.: Breakout Sessions:
Using Off the Record (OTR) chat: Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops for this hands-on session on how to set up OTR encryption to protect sources.
Setting up PGP mail encryption: Attendees should bring their laptops for this tutorial on how PGP works and how to set it up for secure electronic communications.
Demonstration of SecureDrop: This demonstration of the system for enabling secure communications between journalists and sources, managed by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, will also focus on how to install and use it in your newsroom.
Breakout sessions will be conducted by Runa Sandvik, technologist, Freedom of the Press Foundation; Garrett Robinson, SecureDrop lead developer, Freedom of the Press Foundation; Erinn Clark, technologist, First Look Media; Mike Tigas, reporter, Pro Publica; and Oktavia Jonsdottir, director of the Securing Access to Free Expression (S.A.F.E.) initiative, IREX.
12:30 p.m.: Lunch at the Knight Conference Center
1:30 p.m.: Security Lessons from the Snowden Files. Journalists involved in reporting on the NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden will talk about what they learned from the experience and how it might be handled better in the future.
Panelists will be: Spencer Ackerman, national security editor, The Guardian US; Siobhan Gorman, intelligence correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; Micah Lee, technologist, The Intercept; and Lynn Oberlander, general counsel, First Look Media.
2:30 p.m.: Keynote (To Be Announced)
3:30 p.m.: Screening, “Citizenfour.” A special screening of filmmaker Laura Poitras’ film about Snowden and government surveillance will be held at the Knight Conference Center.