Protection for ‘deep throats’

– As President Donald Trump warns of a crackdown on US government leaks to media, interest is growing in technology tools that allow sources to share information anonymously.

One such tool, called SecureDrop, being used by at least 30 US and global media organisations, offers a way for sources to anonymously communicate via encrypted servers.

“We’ve seen an explosion of interest in SecureDrop in the past two months,” said Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which created the tool.

Timm said “dozens” of news organisations had expressed interest in using the tool which enables sharing without leaving digital traces.

“Ever since the election there seems to be an urgency within these organisations to set up a more secure way to get information from whistle-blowers,” he said.

While news leaks have come from a variety of sources, Trump, who took office on January 20, has denounced the release of classified information by officials as “criminal” and vowed to punish leakers.

Timm argued, however, that the news leaks have been important in holding elected officials accountable and helping the truth emerge.

He said the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn, caught lying about his contacts with Russia, was an important example.

“Not only are leaks allowing the public to put pressure on the government to pull back awful policies, but it’s even informing other people within the Trump administration,” Timm said in a blog post for the Columbia Journalism Review.

Although the methods for leaks are not always known, some news organisations have acknowledged using SecureDrop, including the Associated Press and First Look Media’s investigative site The Intercept.

SecureDrop “is the system easiest to use for newsrooms to facilitate communication that allows a back-and-forth exchange while allowing the source to remain completely anonymous,” said Intercept editor-in-chief Betsy Reed.

The system “has become an increasingly useful source of genuinely newsworthy documents for us,” Reed noted.

“In the current political environment there can be tremendous risks to cooperating with a journalist and becoming a whistle-blower, and it makes sense to offer this as protection.” – AFP

We’ve seen an explosion of interest in SecureDrop in the past two months. Trevor Timm Executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation