Webinar for journalists on cybersecurity and data protection

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas will be offering a webinar for journalists called, “An Introduction to Staying Safe Online: A step by step review of security features on email and social networking.” The two-hour webinar will be offered in English on Aug. 15, 2012, taught by Robert Guerra, a Canadian expert in cybersecurity and other Internet related issues.

“We have been impressed and very concerned about the level of ignorance among the public in general but also among journalists about the security issues on the use of the Internet,” said professor Rosental Alves, founder and director of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. “This issue is more important than journalists realize and I am sure that those who take the webinar will be surprised by the simple things they can do to be safer on the cyberspace.”

The live, two-hour webinar will take place Aug. 15, 2012 at 12:00 PM (Austin time). The number of participants is limited, and registration is taking place through this link. Registration will remain open until Tuesday, Aug. 14 at 12 p.m. (Austin time). Those who attend the webinar will need to pay a $25 administrative fee and will receive a certificate of participation.

According to Guerra, learning the basics of protecting your data and information is more important than ever for journalists considering recent cases of cyber attacks against journalists and news organizations.

“Today bloggers and journalists in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia face both electronic surveillance and reprisals for reporting news,” Guerra said. “Over the past three years, nearly half of all journalists imprisoned worldwide have been bloggers or others reporting online. Yet journalists in many nations around the world have yet to learn the technical concepts and techniques to protect themselves and their sources.”

The seminar will help journalists to have a better understanding of how email and social networking accounts are compromised and what steps, procedures and tools can be used to protect them. The participants in the course will be introduced to several tools and techniques.

Guerra is a civil society expert specializing in issues of Internet governance, cyber security, social networking, multi-stakeholder participation, Internet freedom and human rights. Robert is the founder of Privaterra, a Canadian based company that works with private industry and nongovernmental organizations to assist them with issues of data privacy, secure communications, information security, Internet governance and Internet freedom.

Guerra also works as special adviser to the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He serves as a member of ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), as well as a member of the US IGF Steering Committee. Additionally he has participated as a member of the official Canadian delegation at two UN World Summits on the Information Society (WSIS).