Securing your data is critical, especially if you are investigating a controversial topic, with powerful forces at play and in a nation that upholds few human liberties. Those who are not keen on your work getting out may want to manipulate or spy on your research. It might be tiring to keep looking over your shoulder, but it is only wise to ask yourself who would be interested in preventing your investigation from going public. Other questions to consider: What means do these individuals possess? Is your research based on human or digital sources? What security tools do you have to protect your work?

It goes without saying that your sources should take precautions as well. Ensure they are aware of security tools to protect themselves from infiltration. Nevertheless, be aware that things are never 100 percent secure. You can only make it harder, more expensive and more time-consuming for an opponent to access your device and the information stored on it.

The following chapter will provide an overview of security strategies to help protect your devices. Before installing any (here suggested) software, check the latest version of each application since the Internet is always changing. Do not scrimp on such services. The market offers free and paid versions of software. See which programme suits your needs best, and then decide which version to use. We recommend looking into the availability of open-source software that allows other IT experts to scrounge around the code and ensure its security. Potential security leaks will usually be detected very fast in open-source software, especially compared to private software that usually does not display their code, meaning no one but the owner can check for or de-bug security threats.