The European “Censorship” Games in Baku – online security tips for journalists

The European Games in Baku are underway, but under all the pizzazz lies the very disturbing issue of
censorship, the violation of human rights, and the safety of journalists reporting on the event in the gas and oil rich country. However, there are a number of online security tips for journalists to secure their data while covering the European Games in Azerbaijan’s capital city.

More than a billion dollars has been spent on the European Games in Baku, including the Olympic Stadium, making the first edition of the event a truly magnificent sight to behold. 6000 athletes from 50 nations are competing in the 17 day event which runs until 28 June, organised by the European Olympic Committee (EOC.)

The opening ceremony on Friday 12 June included a performance from Lady Gaga killing John Lennon’s “Imagine” (interestingly the line “no need for greed and hunger” was omitted from her rendition!) however, the event has been heavily marred by the Azerbaijani government clamping down on freedom of speech, seriously violating human rights and barring media outlets and human rights organizations from attending the European Games in Baku.

Look at the spectacular fireworks, look at Lady Gaga, look at the balloons escape (at a glacial pace – skip to 2:37) from a giant pomegranate– there’s no way that we’re a repressive government!
While the majority of EU leaders boycotted the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku, due to the country’s poor record on human rights, surprise, surprise, some of HMA!’s least favourite internet dictatorial-led leaders were in attendance, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who watched the opening ceremony with fellow censorship comrade President Ilham Aliyev.

A number of human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the Human Right’s Watch, as well as several media outlets including a journalist from The Guardian were refused entry into the country for the 2015 European Games in Baku for calling attention to the violation of human rights there.

Rachel Denber from the Human Rights Watch said “Government repression is making the European Games historic for all the wrong reasons.”

Dozens of political activists, journalists and critics of the government have been locked up, many others have fled the country in fear of persecution according to Human Rights Watch. While Azerbaijan’s systematic approach to clamping down on freedom of speech is no secret, the government hopes the European Games in Baku (as they also hoped hosting the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest), will detract attention away from their appalling human rights record to establish future ties with Europe. But this has only highlighted Azerbaijan’s appalling human rights track record. #humanrightsfail
Online security tips for journalists covering the European Games in Baku
If you’re a journalist reporting on the European Games in Baku, or in fact any future events, you can beef up the security and privacy on your devices with these online security tips for journalists from Hide My Ass! and also from Alan Pearce who was commissioned by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) to protect media covering the event.

• If you need to connect to public Wi-Fi use a VPN which will stop anyone, including attackers, or other third parties from being able to access your confidential information when covering the European Games in Baku. A VPN will also give you access to any blocked websites you may need to access. Hide My Ass! is your best bet – we have a VPN server in Azerbaijan giving you fast, reliable access to information and services. Check out our tips on how to stay safe on public Wi-Fi hotspots!
• Do you trust the message you have received on your device? If you’re not 100% confident it’s from a trusted and reliable source do not click on it, and certainly don’t open any attachments or click on any links within the message. Alan Pearce recommends to disable HTML in your email programme via the Settings tag to avoid infection via email.
• Hide My Phone! is a great mobile privacy app for journalists covering the European Games in Baku (or other privacy-conscious people), make phone calls without being traced by governments, or any other unscrupulous third parties.
• Keep your laptop or mobile device in your sights at all times. Alan Pearce recommends “applying a coat of glitter nail polish over a laptop or tablet and then taking a photo of it with your smartphone can calter show if the device has been tampered with.”
• Set your smartphone passcode to automatically lock at a time that works for you. If you set it to lock every 30 mins and you’re only on it for 2 mins, you’re leaving your smartphone vulnerable to attack.
• Make sure that any websites you visit uses SSL. You will know this, as you will see “https” in the URL address. The “s” means secure. Look for “https” on every webpage you visit and if you don’t see it, then that part of your session isn’t encrypted.
• There will be times when you meet various different personnel while covering the European Games in Baku, but may not wish to give out your real email address. Use the Hide My Ass! anonymous email service to keep your personal email address personal!
• Leaving Bluetooth or NFC on is an open invitation for anyone to access your smartphone device and steal your personal data. A good rule of thumb to follow is always turn off Bluetooth, or any other services, once you finished using it or switch mode to “not discoverable.”
• Great online security tips for journalists also includes the apps Mobile Hidden Camera for Android and Secret Camera for iOS with both apps allowing you to take photos without the shutter sound, previous or playback.
• If you need to share files, try SpiderOak, recommend by Edward Snowden. Steer clear of using Dropbox, which Snowden calls “hostile to privacy.”
• Install anti-theft software which will allow you to remotely delete data from your phone if it falls into the wrong hands or you misplace it during the European Games in Baku. Android users can download “Where’s my Droid” and iOS users can download the app “Find My Phone.”
• Services such as Skype and Facebook can be, and are, intercepted on a regular basis. A more secure service is CSpace, which is an open-source encrypted chat service which allows people to communicate safely and securely, as well as transfer files.

Find more great online security tips for journalists (or anyone concerned about privacy) visit our blog and also look for tips from Alan Pearce to secure your devices at home and abroad!

Name of the Provider	Website Address
Hide My Ass	Visit Provider
Strong VPN	Visit Provider
Switch VPN	Visit Provider
Pure VPN	Visit Provider
IPVanish VPN	Visit Provider
Hotspot Shield Elite	Visit Provider