Listen to story
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
This report is part of a series of digital security workshops and clinics led by the Zimbabwe National Editors Forum (ZINEF) and the Zimbabwe Network of Citizen Journalists (ZNCJ).
On 27 September 2024, ZNCJ participated in a sensitization workshop aimed at strengthening digital security and rights for newsroom editors in the Southern Region of Zimbabwe.
The workshop was led by the Zimbabwe Network of Citizen Journalists (ZNCJ), in collaboration with the Zimbabwe National Editors Forum (ZINEF), and supported by Internews.
The digital security workshop equipped editors with practical skills to detect and investigate malicious infrastructure and attempts to hijack local hardware and software through social engineering, with particular emphasis on phishing.
It was established that the majority of traditional community news organizations and emerging digital media startups are in a transition phase from print to digital media. As a result, these news organizations are inherently vulnerable to malicious attempts to hijack or override control of their digital news infrastructure, particularly websites and file-sharing and storage systems.
Malicious attacks are often motivated by disinformation campaigns, especially in politically charged regions where the media has significant influence in shaping public opinion and discourse. Therefore, it is imperative to protect the integrity of the media and safeguard editors from digital threats that may undermine the value of news media.
The aim is to equip editors and newsroom leaders with skills to guard against:
- Social engineering attacks
- Surveillance
- Malicious infrastructure
- Password loss
- Data and device breaches
Technical training materials and resources were adopted from the INFUSE training manual on selected topics relevant to the training context. The primary training manual resources used were from the INFUSE LEARNING PATH: Investigating Malicious Infrastructure.
Editors were also provided with open-source tools to strengthen their capacity to detect and investigate malicious infrastructure.



Participants
In attendance were community-based news organizations and digital publications operating in the Midlands Province, including:
- The Midlands Observer
- Jekeso Community Newspaper
- Unika News
- The Public Eye Newspaper
Acknowledgements
- Digital Protector and Lead Trainer: Richard Kawazi