Wesam Hassan

The digital environment in which journalists operate is a product of the fusion of technology and its availability through numerous internet-based applications that have shortened distances and reduced time and effort. However, the online community often witnesses interactions and practices that can be disappointing and indicative of risks, such as cybercrimes, surveillance, tracking, and access to information individuals may wish to keep private, alongside acts of cyberterrorism. My research aimed at assessing journalists' awareness of potential digital threats and risks, identifying the strategies and measures they adopt to enhance their digital security, and exploring the role of their media organizations in supporting digital security and training them to manage technological behaviors that ensure their safety while practicing their profession through technological tools and the internet.

Definition of journalists' safety

Journalists’ safety, in the context of digital security, refers to the mechanisms and series of actions journalists undertake to protect themselves by preventing or delaying cyberattacks targeting their assets, such as their privacy, data, and devices. Digital security involves practices and measures designed to defend technological assets from adversaries’ attempts to interfere with them. This defense can take various forms, including directly responding to attacks, proactively researching defensive trends by anticipating attackers’ actions, or identifying necessary measures when an unexploited security vulnerability is discovered.