What is holistic security?

What is holistic security?

A illustration of holistic security by Tactical Tech from the Holistic Security guide, licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Digital security does not exist in a vacuum, and holistic security is a practice that integrates digital security with wellbeing, community health, physical security, and other fields.

Different kinds of security often work together. Take the example of digital and physical security. If your digital security practices mean that people who want to harass or harm you cannot figure out where you are physically located, then your digital security is enhancing your physical security.

On the other hand, if you keep your digital devices locked and hidden so that nobody can steal them and access their data, then your physical security enhances your digital security. We are therefore better protected if we look at security in a broader sense–and ensure that caring deeply about our own security and that of others does not leave us exhausted.

Don’t forget that our adversaries often don’t just try to get to our data. Often, they want to discourage us from our work or activism in the first place by making us feel anxious or demotivating us. Taking steps to not just be safer but also feel safer and more confident is key.

Let's look at four aspects of security (beyond digital security) we all need to consider: community, legal, physical, and psychosocial.