Journalists Use Dark Web Technology to Protect Source Privacy
November 4, 2015
Canada’s paper the Globe and Mail suggests those with sensitive information to reveal some Dark Web tech: “SecureDrop at the Globe and Mail.” As governments get less squeamish about punishing whistleblowers, those with news the public deserves to know must be increasingly careful how they share their knowledge. The website begins by informing potential SecureDrop users how to securely connect through the Tor network. The visitor is informed:
“The Globe and Mail does not log any of your interactions with the SecureDrop system, including your visit to this page. It installs no tracking cookies or tracking software of any kind on your computer as part of the process. Your identity is not exposed to us during the upload process, and we do not know your unique code phrase. This means that even if a code phrase is compromised, we cannot comply with demands to provide documents that were uploaded by a source with that code phrase. SecureDrop itself is an open-source project that is subject to regular security audits, reducing the risk of bugs that could compromise your information. Information provided through SecureDrop is handled appropriately by our journalists. Journalists working with uploaded files are required to use only computers with encrypted hard drives and follow security best practices. Anonymous sources are a critical element of journalism, and The Globe and Mail has always protected its sources to the best of its abilities.
The page closes with a warning that no communication can be perfectly secure, but that this system is closer than most. Will more papers take measures to ensure folks can speak up without being tracked down?
Cynthia Murrell, November 4, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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Journalists Use Dark Web Technology to Protect Source Privacy : Stephen E. Arnold @ Beyond Search