How to make sure your private data isn’t used against you online
Journalists are increasingly vulnerable to online attacks from bad actors. Knowing what personal information is publicly available on the Internet — and how to make it private again — is among the steps a journalist can take to reduce the risk of becoming a target, says David Huerta, senior digital security instructor for the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Here are more tips Huerta shared for journalists during a March 8 webinar produced by the National Press Club Journalism Institute:
- Dedicate an afternoon to go through search engines for your name, email addresses, and phone numbers, as well as your family members. Go on Google, Bing, Safari, and whitepages.com to get a sense of what is publicly available. The New York Times has developed a great tip sheet on how to do this on multiple technology platforms.
- Most of the time, the publicly available information got there by way of a data broker, so you’ll have to go through the process of opting out. Huerta suggests looking at Yael Graer’s “Big ass data broker opt-out list” for help.
- Check out this step-by-step guide to help you remove personally identifiable information on Google, and use this removal guide for whitepages.com.
- You can also pay to use opt-out lists and services: Delete Me or Mozilla Monitor to ensure your private information remains private. Ask your newsroom if they’ll cover the fee.
- Going forward, consider using a Google phone number, which can be easily changed, if you don’t want your personal phone number to become public.
- Make sure all of your privacy settings are turned on if using social media, and use two-factor authentication as much as you can. Here is a social media and privacy checklist from the New York Times.
For more tips, watch the webinar replay or use the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s digital guides.
Additional resources
- Freedom of the Press Foundation digital security guides
- Digisec Digest newsletter
- 13 security tips for journalists covering hate online (The Journalist’s Resource)
- X advanced search
- From Tik to Tok: Security considerations for newsrooms using TikTok (Freedom of the Press Foundation)
- Social media security & privacy checklists (NYT Open)
- A guide to doxxing yourself on the Internet (NYT Open)
- List of data brokers and ways to opt out
- Remove select personally identifiable info or doxxing content from Google Search
- Edit or Remove a personal listing on Whitepages
- DeleteMe
- Mozilla Monitor
About the speaker
David Huerta is a senior digital security trainer at Freedom of the Press Foundation, where he trains journalists in privacy-enhancing technology to empower a free press. He’s taught hundreds of trainings across the world and has previously organized the digital security track at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists conference. He’s also spoken on the subject of usable privacy technology at DEF CON, Radical Networks, RightsCon, FACETS, Allied Media Conference, and anywhere the words “use PGP” summon him to a stump speech.
About the National Press Club Journalism Institute
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.
The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you. Your donation today allows the Institute to offer the majority of its programming at no cost.