EMDC Support Center

Introduction

EMDC takes your online security very seriously. But we also recognize that we live in an ever changing world. 

When EMDC began in 2011 it was quite possible to for people to attend in person in an anonymous way. You use a pseudo name, not be in pictures and be very careful about announcing where you were going. All of our web pages were behind passwords and it was hard to even find a mission or purpose statement of EMDC. 

Fast forward to our new world where some restaurants are asking for identification and your cell number so that they can do contact tracing. Facial recognition software is becoming more widespread. Security at our in person events will be different as explained in this separate answer. 

As we now move into doing our training online, there is a similar, yet unique set of security protocols that we are seeking to implement. Rest assured that we will do what we can to provide a safe environment for everyone to take online classes, but we recognize there are limitations.

For Whom This Matters

For the vast majority of our users, the end-user level of security we are recommending here is not necessary. These extra steps apply to those attendees who are from restricted access countries in which an identification with a Christian organization may be inappropriate. For all others, no other steps other than what EMDC.online is doing is necessary. 

Simply Stated

The best security begins at the end user level. We make a recommendation that you take the steps below to make sure that you start as secure as you can. We will then add to that security in the following ways.

End User Security

To help insure your personal security we recommend the following steps. Again, if you are not from a restricted access country these steps are not necessary - they will limit your ability to freely participate. 

We do recognize though that some governments have gone to great length to try to obtain information about their residents by seeing where you spend time on the Web, use facial recognition on video calls, watch your keystrokes, embed tracking software on your computer and so forth. In those cases where you need extra security, we recommend the following.

• Always Use a Reputable VPN: This helps to hide your data, where you are connecting from/to and provides a level of encryption with your connections. You can read more about a VPN here.
• Use a Secure Email Service: gMail.com is by far our most popular email service, but it isn't very secure. Local governments use scanning processes to see what you are saying and to whom you are saying it. You need to use an email service that encrypts everything and cannot be read. Again,this is a rapidly changing world, but here is an article that can get you started on understanding what some of the options are. You can do research to find other services others than the ones recommended in the article.
• Set Up an EMDC Screen Name: When you enroll in emdc.online and complete the Start Page settings, you are given an option to enter a screen name. Pick a screen name that does not disclose who you are (e.g. rocketman24 or ilovegrapes). This is the name that will be displayed on the site for others to contact you or to acknowledge your presence. (note, this service will be ready in is not yet ready
• Cover Your Camera: When you log into Zoom (or any other supported video conference service they ask permission to access your camera which you should deny. But we recommend that you go one step further by putting a piece of tape or paper over your camera. There has been evidence of your computer's camera being turned on without your knowing it.
• Use a Zoom Screen Name: When you log into Zoom, it will use the screen name of your logged in account. Prior to joining the call, you should check your Zoom profile settings to make sure that your initial screen name will not reveal who you are.
• Use Chat for Dialog or Disguise Your Voice: We want your input and one of the best ways to insure your security is to use the chat box to ask questions, make comments or interact with other attendees. But if you do need to speak, there are some simple steps you can take to disguise your voice. 
• Limit What You Say: When you do use chat, make sure that you are very careful about giving revealing information in the chat. Do not make references to locations, times, places or anything that could potentially give away where you are from.

EMDC Security

We are able to do as much as we can to provide good security. EMDC will take the following steps.

• Approved Enrollees: Although anyone can sign up, not everyone gets approved. We go through a process of asking individuals very specific questions if they are unknown to us. You can read more from our enrollment articles section. 
• Hidden Emails: Your email is not revealed to others within EMDC.online. Even if you select to have your real name displayed, people will only be able to contact you from within the platform. We do not produce a list of email addresses. Email addresses are only revealed to manager level administrators.
• Limited Access to Recordings: Most of our classes are recorded and placed in a restricted access online repository. Only enrolled users will be able to access the recordings of the sessions.
• Announce Security Measures: In a manner similar to an airline flight, we will review the security protocol at the beginning of each online class. This process will eventually be automated and be included as a part of the process of joining the class.  It will cover these items.
  • A statement about our commitment to online security.
  • A reference to this help center article.
  • A reminder that the session is being recorded.
  • Recommendation to hide camera and use a screen name.
  • A prohibition against screen capture and content recording.
  • Importance of not mentioning people by name, date and place for people from restricted access countries.
    
    
• Terms of Service & Privacy Policy: EMDC is not a legal entity and as such we operate under the protection of the participating organizations. The website maintains a security page in the "About" section where we link to the the privacy policies of some of our major partners.
• Server Security: The software and data used to operate EMDC.online is stored on a secure server that is monitored to insure PCI compliance (industry standard for servers that process credit cards).  
• Security Review: These guidelines will be regularly reviewd and updated to insure that we are current on all of our security.
• Regular Reminders: We will regularly remind people that they should not post pictures of EMDC attendees nor should they mention the names, places and dates related to attendees activities. 

Illusion of Security

Even with all of the above measures in place, we cannot guarantee that an individual's participation in EMDC.online will not in some way be discovered. Please know that the steps we are taking ourselves, and the steps we recommend you take are serious. They will help lessen the possibility of compromise. But ultimately our best defense against those who oppose us is prayer. Rest assured that prayer is a crucial part of the EMDC mindset so that security is not an illusion but a God blessed imperitive.