1. Introduction
Many veteran journalists, but not only these, surely noticed that we are all of a sudden bombarded again from all-over with mentions of Watergate. Books like George Orwell’s 1984 are on display at bookstores and an air of danger to freedom of speech and freedom of the press is spreading slowly like a dark cloud over the Western Hemisphere, raising old fears. When an American serving president accuses a former president of surveillance; when he prevents central US media outlets access - so far always granted, and taken for granted - to press conferences he holds; and when he incessantly knocks and accuses the media of being the country’s enemy number one, it isn’t surprising that memories of President Nixon surface up more with every self-pitying tweet about SNL, and that even Republican Senators such as John McCain express fear for the future of democracy. And McCain is not alone. Many journalists whom I have spoken with recently, expressed concern for whatever lays ahead for the freedom of the press. At a time when it’s possible to express the following statement - “Donald Trump controls the NSA” - and not be held a liar, anything’s possible. Add that to the fact that recent news on CIA taught us that almost all encryption systems can be compromised, if someone has the perseverance to crack them - and you are en route to envisioning an utterly Dystopian world, where you cannot even get too comfortable laying on your sofa, in front of your own smart TV. The good news is that it is nevertheless possible to make it difficult for anyone to try and intercept your emails, the text messages you’re sending or your phone calls. You can take measures to make the lives of those who want to uncover your sources and the information being revealed to you, much harder. Of course, the degree of effort you’re prepared to take to protect your privacy, your sources’ anonymity and your data’s safety, should be commensurate to the likelihood of a real threat, be that hacking or spying. “The old-fashioned promises - I’m not going to reveal my source’s identity or give up my notes - are kind of empty if you’re not taking steps to protect your information digitally,” says Barton Gellman of the Washington Post, whose source, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, helped uncover the scope of the NSA’s and British GCHQ’s operations, to his interviewer Tony Loci. Loci herself, who covered American judicial system for AP, The Washington Post and USA Today, and was herself held in contempt of court for refusing to identify sources, would probably endorse that. So, what is it that needs to be done to ensure that a journalist’s sources and data are secure and well? Grosso modo, the tips can be described as falling within the following categories:
2. Communicating with your source and safeguarding the sensitive data
Let’s begin by listing what you can do when it comes to communicating with a source, and storing sensitive information obtained thereof:
3. How to become anonymous online
Beyond securing the communications with your source, and protecting possible breaches of the sensitive data you get hold of, you should also avoid being tracked while browsing. Online habits can disclose or provide hints as to the story you’re working on, or worse, hint or disclose the identity of your source. Here are the golden rules for surfing the net safely and then, at the next chapter, for securing your email account:
4. Securing your email
How should you protect your e-mail? The problem with maintaining the confidentiality of emails is even tougher: Google and Microsoft will most likely just give out your emails to government agencies if and when required to do so. What should you do? But to avoid being monitored entirely, it’s preferable to use a search engine such as DuckDuckGo. If you find it difficult to give up Google, download Searchlinkfix to at least keep away URL Trackers.
5. Final words
These are perhaps the most radical pieces of advice I ran through, when preparing this eBook. As Micah Lee put it when interviewed on privacy on WIRED: “If your computer gets hacked, the game is over. Creating a virtual sandbox around your online communications is a good way to keep the rest of your system protected. Tor is awesome and can make you anonymous. But if your endpoint gets compromised, your anonymity is compromised too. If you really need to be anonymous, you also need to be really secure”. And Journalist Tony Loci puts it in even harsher words in an article published in an eBook about the future of cross border investigative journalism for the Nieman foundation at Harvard: “Some journalists, computer scientists and privacy advocates are so alarmed that they recommend reporters go old school… and rely on in-person interviews and snail mail”. I hope I have helped people in the trade, and others, gather some information that will clarify what needs and can be done to ensure your and your source’s security in these hectic times.
6. List of Sources for This Book
Security for journalists: How to keep your sources and your information safe http://www.ire.org/blog/car-conference-blog/2016/03/12/security-journalists-how-keep-your-sources-and-you/ Securing data, sources and yourself http://www.ire.org/blog/car-conference-blog/2017/03/05/securing-data-sources-and-yourself/ Surveillance and Security: Are reporters and news organizations doing enough to protect sources? http://niemanreports.org/articles/surveillance-and-security/ Muckraking Goes Global: The Future of Cross-Border Investigative Journalism http://niemanreports.org/books/muckraking-goes-global-the-future-of-cross-border-investigative-journalism/ The Ultimate Guide for Online Privacy https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/ultimate-guide-online-privacy/ What Is a DNS Cache? https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-dns-cache-817514 How to Anonymize Everything You Do Online https://www.wired.com/2014/06/be-anonymous-online/ 19 ways to stay anonymous and protect your online privacy https://www.extremetech.com/internet/180485-the-ultimate-guide-to-staying-anonymous-and-protecting-your-privacy-online Edward Snowden explains how to reclaim your privacy https://www.extremetech.com/internet/180485-the-ultimate-guide-to-staying-anonymous-and-protecting-your-privacy-online Information security for journalists: staying secure online https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/information-security-for-journalists-/s2/a562525/ NSA targets the privacy-conscious http://files.gendo.nl/presentaties/CIJ_Infosec&countersurv_4-07-2014.pdf Obama DOJ formally accuses journalist in leak case of committing crimes https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/20/obama-doj-james-rosen-criminality Your WhatsApp secrets are safe now. But Big Brother is still watching you… https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/10/whatsapp-encryption-billion-users-data-security Obama Pursuing Leakers Sends Warning to Whistle-Blowers http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-18/obama-pursuing-leakers-sends-warning-to-whistle-blowers.html 6 encryption mistakes that lead to data breaches https://www.crypteron.com/blog/the-real-problem-with-encryption/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA9P7FBRCtoO33_LGUtPQBEiQAU_tBgDgBzD9wIXv94vwhj3qwhc6ewEYY eyjIeiXtMQiwF3caAsFn8P8HAQ
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