Digital Security Discussed in Basic Journalism Workshop

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Writer and journalist Ahmet Sabancı has delivered a presentation on knowledge of WordPress and its add-ons, digital security and applications for digital security. After the presentation, participants have downloaded various programs and applications.

Ahmet Sabancı has started the workshop with the question “What is WordPress?” and answered his question as follows: “WordPress is a system which is easy to teach and learn. As it has been in use for a long time, it is a system with a free software, about which you can find every type of source on the Internet.”

Sabancı has also given information about the add-ons of WordPress as well as the points to consider in WordPress design and themes.

Digital security for journalists

Sabancı has defined digital security as our control over the tools and softwares that we use and the inability of other parties to intervene in them.

Underlining that digital security has been seriously discussed over the last five years and closely concerns our lives, Sabancı has said, “When it comes to the personal side of the matter, the main problem we face is the inability to comprehend how digital security operates.”

“The lack of sources on how this process works leads to a lack of knowledge in media literacy and digital security.”

Within this context, phishing attacks, encoding and encryption, safe Internet and messaging icons have been discussed and five steps of digital security have been listed as follows:

* Knowledge is power. Have knowledge.

* What is simpler is also safer and easier.

* The fact that something is expensive does not mean that it is also safer.

* There is no perfect security. If there is, it has a price.

* What is safe today might not be safe tomorrow.

Understanding digital security

Ahmet Sabancı has stated that in order to understand the need for digital security, the following questions must be answered:

What do I want to protect?

From whom or what do I want to protect it?

How likely do I have to protect it?

What bad consequences will arise if I fail to protect it?

What difficulties can I put up with to prevent it?

Password and device security

Sabancı has also touched upon the importance of password, account and device security and made the following recommendations:

* The length of a password determines its strength.

* Ensure that you do not use the same password on different websites and applications.

* Password safes are recommended. In this way, you will have to memorize only the password of the safe instead of memorizing all the passwords that you use.

* Use two different methods of verification.

* Update the softwares of your devices.

Speaking about digital security, Sabancı has also referred to phishing attacks, meta data, basic concepts in encryption/encoding, points to consider in using VPN, means of safe communication and messaging as well as safe search engines.

Afterwards, the participants have been shown some applications such as signal, tor, DuckDuckGo and telegram and they have been informed about how these apps function.

“Digital Security and Knowledge of WordPress” workshop has been supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and Journalism Media International Center (JMIC) at Oslo Met-Oslo Metropolitan University. (SO/SD)

About Ahmet Alphan Sabancı

Writer, journalist and translator Ahmet Alphan Sabancı graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (MSGSÜ). His main specialties are in the fields of philosophy, human rights, technology, information security/digital security and futures studies. He is also one of the founders of Mint360, “a creative network that produces fresh ideas and new projects in the field of media, innovation and technology.”

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