II. Research Background This research was initiated to understand any gaps between the present-day digital security needs of activists and journalists on the ground in Myanmar, and the training and knowledge available in the digital security curricula and training on offer. Many digital security training efforts have taken place within Myanmar. Yet, based on our observation from EngageMedia’s involvement in digital security programs, reports indicate that threats persist, resulting in journalists being detained and arrested. While awareness and knowledge of digital safety must have increased to some degree, are journalists’ needs not being met by the existing training curricula? This report zooms in on the security practices of journalists as actors doing the public work of reporting, considering them as a part of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement. Initially, the research intended to explore the widespread reports of the military junta’s digital coup and repression tactics, and how this impacted journalists’ digital security and the tools they use to circumvent these challenges. However, as our research progressed, it became evident that digital threats are just one facet of a multi-layered security situation facing journalists in Myanmar. We realised that starting with the digital might not be adequate. Thus, instead of merely focusing on material technologies, we also paid attention to social and bodily techniques that journalists employ. Journalists depend not only on tools and devices, but also on networks of peers, circulated rumours, and makeshift knowledge assembled through encounters with military inspections. We might call these ‘tricks of the trade’ as they are discussed and shared among the profession. This approach became particularly relevant as we observed the changing media landscape postjunta crackdown, which will be described in the section below. 9