Lock and key (460 x 280)
Credit: Image by JanetR3 on Flickr. Creative commons licence. Some rights reserved.

Journalists working in the digital age face many new challenges when looking to protect their sources.

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, reporter in the data investigations team at The Wall Street Journal, highlighted her best tools and tips for protecting sources at last month’s Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) conference.

Sam Berkhead, English and engagement editor, IJNet, summarised Valentino-DeVries' presentation, outlining the various security steps that journalists need to take in order to ensure they're protecting not only the identity of their sources, but also the information they are providing.

As well as covering security tools and encryption, she noted 'threat modelling' can prevent a crime taking place by helping journalists evaluate who an adversary is most likely to be, what information they might want and the consequences of a story’s sensitive information getting out.

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