Bills threaten encrypted platforms used by journalists
Frank Duenzl/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Journalists rely on strong encryption to protect confidential sources and newsgathering materials.
Journalists use encrypted services to keep information secure and private.
But lawmakers are increasingly attacking encryption. Bills that would require backdoors so law enforcement can access encrypted communications or that would discourage online services from offering strong encryption could have dire impacts on journalists and sources.
Encryption is under threat. We must defend it.
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Over 150 filmmakers and photojournalists call on major camera manufacturers to build encryption into their cameras
Camera manufacturers need to build in encryption to protect filmmakers and photojournalists.
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Does Cyberspace Exist? Is It Free? Reflections, 20 years Later, on A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace
Twenty years ago tonight, I was at a staff party for the closing of the World Economic Forum, lured there by a coven of the contemporary geishas that staffed the Forum in those days, composed largely of doctoral students in Foreign Affairs at the University of Geneva. But I had …
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Publishing the unredacted SecureDrop 0.3.4 audit report
In July, we announced the release of SecureDrop 0.3.4 and published the accompanying security audit by iSEC partners (now NCC Group). The audit found 10 issues, one of which â issue 7, Finding ID iSEC-15FTC-4 â was redacted. It was redacted because it was not an issue in SecureDrop …
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Our statement on Congress passing the USA Freedom Act, the NSA 'reform' bill
Today the Senate passed a version of the USA Freedom Act, a bill touted by its authors as surveillance reform that will end the NSA’s mass, suspicionless collection of Americans’ personal data. Given that parts of the Patriot Act expired on June 1st, and that the government is pretending …
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Why aren’t more news organizations protecting their e-mail with STARTTLS encryption?
The Guardian published a shocking story a few weeks ago showing that in 2008 Britain’s spy agency GCHQ collected and stored the e-mails of some of the world’s biggest news organizations, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and BBC. We wanted to find out which news organizations are still …
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Digital security lessons from the Barrett Brown case
During a hearing last month in the case of Barrett Brown — a jailed journalist known for his advocacy of the hacktivist collective Anonymous — the Justice Department (DOJ) entered into the court record 500 pages of evidence containing e-mails and chat logs that it claimed would demonstrate “relevant conduct” …
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Watch many of the nation's best reporters and technologists discuss post-Snowden journalism security
Along with Reporters Committee and OTI, we hosted a one-day conference on journalism and digital security last Friday in DC. The panels were full of many of the nation's best national security reporters, technologists and lawyers. The event was capped off by a surprise appearance via video by Edward Snowden, …
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Digital security conference on Nov. 7th will bring together many of the nation's best reporters and technologists
This Friday November 7th, Freedom of the Press Foundation—along with Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Open Technology Institute—are co-hosting a conference on journalism and digital security in Washington DC that will focus on how news organizations and reporters can use technology and encryption to better protect …
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It’s Time for a Real Debate on Reader Privacy
Last week longtime local publisher Howard Owens, founder of the online news site the Batavian, launched a new publication covering Wyoming County in upstate New York. Buried in a parenthetical within his welcome message to readers was a fascinating promise: “We’ll also respect your privacy by not gathering personal data …
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Tor Challenge Inspires 1,635 Tor Relays
Good news for whistleblowers, journalists, and everyone who likes to browse the Internet with an added cloak of privacy: the Tor network got a little stronger. Tor—software that lets you mask your IP address—relies on an international network of committed volunteers to run relays to help mask traffic. And that …
