Teaching Digital Security 101: Press advocates partner on savvy curriculum for border-region journalists

Back in 2022, we started taking group trips down to the border. We met with local journalists on both sides of the border. We wanted to see what it was like to cross the border. … One of the things we heard from various journalists was that they just didn’t know what to do when crossing the border. They weren’t sure what to do with their devices.”

Dave Maas, director of investigations, Electronic Frontier Foundation

As part of E&P’s “Reporting On” series, in 2024, we spoke with journalists working near the U.S.-Mexico border. Reporting for BorderReport.com, veteran journalist Sandra Sanchez recounted her work there, including what it means to tell the stories of the people crossing the border and life in border-town communities. She spoke about the challenges of operating as a journalist there, and how her employer, out of an abundance of precaution, prohibited its reporters from crossing the border.

But for those journalists who do cross, a serious concern is how to protect digital devices from seizure or inspection by law enforcement, potentially putting sources at risk.

“Back in 2022, we started taking group trips down to the border,” Dave Maass told E&P. Maass is the director of investigations for San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). “We met with local journalists on both sides of the border. We wanted to see what it was like to cross the border. … One of the things we heard from various journalists was that they just didn’t know what to do when crossing the border. They weren’t sure what to do with their devices.”

“We had been meeting with people from UTEP, the University of Texas El Paso, and on one of the trips, we floated this idea that we might create a one-session module that could be presented in classes,” Maass said. “The Freedom of the Press Foundation already had a curriculum, and we’d worked with them in the past, so we pitched the idea for a partnership.”

Working with the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s Dr. Martin Shelton, deputy director of digital security, they developed a 90-minute class, Digital Security 101: Crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. It delves into threat modeling and “thinking through what you want to protect, and what actions you can take to secure it.” Students learn the importance of using encrypted apps and which device settings should be enabled or disabled. The module was rolled out last year to journalism students at UTEP and San Diego State University.

Dr. Martin Shelton (left) of the Freedom of the Press Foundation and EFF’s Dave Maass are seen here teaching aspiring journalists at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) how to prepare digital devices for reporting from the U.S.-Mexico border or while crossing it. (Photo credit: Albert Silva)

The module offers insight into avoiding “secondary inspection” and further interrogation. There are practical tips, such as not carrying a burner phone, to avoid attracting attention. Instead, he advised using a secondary phone, prepped for border crossings and devoid of social media, photos and source contacts.

“That way, when they ask you about the phone or inspect it, you can say, ‘This is my work phone.’ If they ask why you don’t have social media apps or photos on it, you can simply say that it’s because your employer doesn’t allow you to use the phone in that way.

“Our presentation also talks about how you look physically — ethnically and gender-wise — may impact how you’re treated,” he said.

Also, the curriculum illuminates how to behave when encountering border patrol and why it’s important to provide as little information as possible about your role and reasons for crossing the border.

“When somebody asks, ‘Are you here for work, and what kind of work do you do?’ You could say, ‘I do research,’ instead of, ‘I’m here to interview a politician.’ You don’t want to make yourself interesting to them. Tone that down,” Maass suggested.

“A lot of what they exert at the border is psychological,” he said. “They can put you in a room. It can be very cold. They may threaten you and question your motives. It’s a big pain for them copy or seize your phone, so they really want to get as far as they can, voluntarily with your assistance.”

Gretchen A. Peck is a contributing editor to Editor & Publisher. She has reported for E&P since 2010 and welcomes comments at gretchenapeck@gmail.com.