International Center for Journalists promotes independent journalism with Microsoft Defender

Across the world, journalists are exposing corruption, following elections, covering crises, and getting critical information to their communities. The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) supports these truth-tellers to advance independent journalism, even in places that are hostile to the press. In just the last year, this support has enabled journalists to report from war zones, build tools to identify disinformation, leverage data to demonstrate trends of formerly invisible violence, and much more.  

“The journalists we engage with are fighting the rise of disinformation and misinformation. They’re delivering truth so that people understand what’s going on in their community and the world at large,” explains Chris Kauffman, Technology and Data Operations Manager at ICFJ. “We support this international community by providing resources to uplift them as much as possible.”  

ICFJ works with journalists in 95 countries, many of whom endure threats of online and in-person violence. “Their safety is critical, and why we are vigilant about digital security,” says Kavita Avasthi, Director of Human Resources at ICFJ. 

This concern led ICFJ to work with FSi Strategies to boost its security. Holding Solutions Partner designations in both Security and Modern Work, FSi Strategies conducted a security audit and found the nonprofit already had many foundational safeguards in place. FSi Strategies then laid out and executed a plan to further protect ICFJ, its staff, and the journalists it supports, tracking progress along the way with the Microsoft Secure Score in Defender.   

“We’ve heard from our staff that they feel a sense of relief with each security measure and policy,” Kauffman says. “These upgrades allow them to focus on their job and better engage with our journalists.”   

Protecting journalist and staff privacy 

To support journalists and growing newsrooms, ICFJ must collect and store personally identifiable information (PII). In the wrong hands, details such as contact information and travel plans could endanger journalists. ICFJ relies on Microsoft security solutions to keep data private and safe. 

As email is ICFJ’s primary communication tool to reach its network, the nonprofit focused on securing Outlook. “We exchange a lot of communication to coordinate all our work, so it’s very important to ensure messages are not hacked or intercepted,” Avasthi says. Selecting the appropriate licenses for different types of employees enabled ICFJ to immediately turn on defenses such as anti-malware protection.  

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 further shrinks the risk of employees inadvertently exposing the organization to bad actors. FSi Strategies configured anti-spam and anti-phishing policies to filter suspicious messages. They enabled anti-spoofing capabilities to expose senders who misrepresent themselves, enabling employees to treat those messages with extra care. They also upgraded the domain name system (DNS) security to prevent bad actors from spoofing the ICFJ email domain and impersonating staff. Further, Defender Antivirus offers real-time protection by scanning all downloaded files and attachments. “Bad actors get more clever by the day, and email communication is often the vector of attack,” says Mike Trimboli, Director of Client Strategy at FSi Strategies. “Improving mail security is foundational and fundamental.” 

By fine-tuning permissions via role-based access controls (RBAC) in Intune and Entra ID, ICFJ minimizes what adversaries could access in the unlikely event they could break through safeguards. “Not everyone needs access to everything,” Kauffman explains. They created access policies by employee role and license, simplifying what used to be person-by-person decisions. Limiting access to only the apps and files an employee or consultant needs also “makes their job easier because they don’t have to navigate through so much,” he adds.   

Finally, employee education builds a culture of shared responsibility to protect journalists’ privacy. FSi Strategies led an organization-wide training on recognizing and defending against phishing attempts, and ICFJ runs phishing simulations through Defender for Office 365. This approach gives employees an opportunity to practice spotting suspicious emails and provides additional resources to those who need more coaching. ICFJ can track progress and identify opportunities to improve in their Defender dashboard. So far, the organization has improved their Microsoft Secure Score by about 50 percentage points. 

“As we roll out security measures, our staff feel even more comfortable engaging with journalists,” Kauffman says. 

Delivering programming securely 

ICFJ staff often travel to run workshops, conferences, mentoring, and much more for the roughly 177,000 journalists in its global network. FSi Strategies upgraded the nonprofit’s endpoint management to keep staff, journalists, and organizational data safe, especially while employees travel to places that are inhospitable to the press. 

Now all devices are overseen with the endpoint management solution Microsoft Intune. Encryption prevents bad actors from accessing stored data if a device is lost or stolen. Intune also enables ICFJ to remotely wipe a device, and multifactor authentication (MFA) through Microsoft Entra ID verifies the identity of anyone attempting to log in. These safeguards deliver the confidence staff need to focus on their work in difficult circumstances, knowing their devices are safe. 

"Fully managing devices through Intune opened up more advanced capabilities like Defender for Endpoint that helped us elevate ICFJ’s security posture,” Trimboli explains. Defender for Endpoint monitors user behavior to identify suspicious activity. Its threat intelligence identifies attacker tools and techniques, alerting FSi Strategies and recommending responses.  

If a security event did occur, Entra ID’s self-service password reset feature enables employees to quickly and securely authenticate their identity. “They can self-service so they don’t have to depend on the help desk, which is critical when working in a fast-paced environment,” Trimboli says. That way, staff working half a world away don’t have to wait for IT support; they can regain access to vital apps and information—and focus on delivering programming that supports independent journalism.   

Evolving to evade threats 

“Journalists are under attack, and new threats constantly evolve,” Kauffman says. “We work alongside FSi to keep up to date and ensure our security structure keeps pace.” 

The visibility in the Defender admin portal enables FSi Strategies to track ICFJ’s Secure Score, risky staff activity, and alerts for suspicious events. The Intune admin dashboard shows who has access to what, making it simple to adjust permissions whenever an employee onboards or switches roles. Intune also notifies staff when an employee mistakenly breaks a policy, such as attempting to download an unapproved app, so they can share a refresher on organization rules.  

“I can get all that information within a couple of minutes and a couple of clicks,” Kauffman says. The insights help ICFJ monitor progress, identify gaps, and take action to become even more secure. 

Partnering with FSi Strategies helps ICFJ take advantage of Microsoft security products, tools, and features to continually advance. “Approaching security as a process, not just a tool you buy or that one silver bullet that kills the werewolf, helps us constantly improve their security, so ICFJ can focus on their mission,” Trimboli says.  

“The journalists we work for are risking their lives, and their safety is our priority,” Avasthi says. “We hope the security steps we’re taking give them peace of mind and enable them to engage candidly with us. It’s important to us to be a safe space.” 

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