As US 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 organizations, 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 organizations 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 organizations 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 has denounced the release of classified information by officials as “criminal” and vowed to punish leakers.
However, Timm said that the news leaks have been important in holding elected officials accountable and helping the truth emerge.
He said the resignation of former US 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.
Though the methods for leaks are not always known, some news organizations have acknowledged using SecureDrop, including The Associated Press.
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,” Intercept editor-in-chief Betsy Reed said. “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.”
Reed said she expects the media to rely more on these kinds of sources, with the Trump administration seeking to control the flow of information.
“We’re going to have feistier independent journalism that depends on cultivating these kinds of sources,” she said. “Whistle-blower journalism will have its heyday and access journalism is on the decline.”
Meanwhile, some US government officials, fearful of monitoring, have taken to using encrypted mobile applications to share information.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number