The danger journalists face isn’t limited to covering conflicts or crime — in fact, the risk is often greatest at the airport. Going through a border check puts reporters at risk of surveillance, refusal of entry, or detainment, and it can be triggered by something as simple as an unlocked phone.
For 15 years, the journalist Vegas Tenold has investigated extremist groups and authoritarian regimes, reporting from places where simply doing his job could land him in prison, or worse. To prevent this from happening, Vegas has developed a go-bag of privacy-focused tools. When reporting the truth is a criminal act, decoy phones, dummy wallets, and Faraday bags aren’t just gear — it’s how he stays safe.
In this short documentary, Vegas walks us through the kit that keeps him out of jail, the threats that come with border crossings, and the hard lessons he’s learned after years of working where surveillance is constant and trust is rare.
Why we support Vegas’s work
Vegas’s privacy arsenal isn’t about being paranoid, it’s about being prepared. Every lock he adds, every hidden USB he uses, every encrypted partition he builds is a response to the real-world threats that journalists, activists, and everyday people face when speaking truth to power.
This mindset is at the core of Proton’s mission. Privacy shouldn’t be reserved for those with technical expertise or insider knowledge. We believe everyone should have access to tools that make them safer — whether that’s with encrypted email, a trustworthy VPN(neues Fenster), or a zero-knowledge password manager.
