ABC launches SecureDrop for whistleblowers to securely and anonymously contact journalists
By Craig McMurtrie, ABC Editorial Director Updated about 8 hours ago https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-28/securedrop-installed-for-contacting-abc-journalists-anonymously/11708200 * https://www.abc.net.au/news/securedrop * https://www.abc.net.au/news/confidential-tips The AFP raid on the ABC targeted my colleagues Dan Oakes and Sam Clark, but it shook us all. It forced us to acknowledge an unpalatable new truth: authorities are more willing to raid Australian journalists as part of a campaign to deter whistleblowers from making embarrassing revelations about government missteps or overreach. At the ABC, we take our role as a watchdog on the activities of government seriously, and this change in approach to the fourth estate put public interest journalism in the spotlight. So, can we do more to provide a secure environment for whistleblowers and journalists to share sensitive information? Six months ago it was unthinkable that federal police would show up at their homes with a search warrant; after what happened to NewsCorp journalist Annika Smethurst, nothing can be taken for granted. The ABC now has SecureDrop Today, the ABC is joining a group of global media leaders who have signed up to SecureDrop — a platform for whistleblowers to anonymously and securely send sensitive documents and messages to our journalists. You can learn how to access the ABC version of SecureDrop on this page. The system is already in use by organisations such as NBC, The New York Times, the Washington Post, The New Yorker and The Guardian. Its primary aim is to allow people with important information to contact the ABC without being identified. "Without sources willing to risk their careers and sometimes their freedom, Four Corners wouldn't have been able to broadcast many of the stories that have changed the face of Australia," said Sally Neighbour, Four Corners executive producer. What SecureDrop does is make it almost impossible to trace the person who sends information because even the ABC won't know the source of the item on SecureDrop. To put it another way: if someone asks us where items on SecureDrop came from, we won't be able to tell them because we won't know. "In many cases, even when journalists think they're doing everything they can to protect their source, metadata from their communications can land them in hot water — SecureDrop reduces that risk," said Alice Brennan, Background Briefing executive producer. It's our responsibility to tell difficult stories Introducing SecureDrop and doing whatever we can to protect sources is fundamental to the purpose of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Act makes it very clear, it is the ABC's function to inform Australians and to develop and maintain an independent news service. The ABC takes no editorial stance other than its commitment to fundamental democratic principles including the rule of law and freedom of speech. "The stories that change the country for the better usually have at their heart whistleblowers courageously providing journalists with information," said 7.30 executive producer Justin Stevens. Telling stories that rely on confidential sources and whistleblowers is central to that statutory role — like allegations about the unlawful killing of civilians in Afghanistan by Australian special forces, abuse of children at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, neglect and abuse in aged care, exploitation of customers by banks, children being held in adult watch houses, and countless others. "Without sources, we would be unable to tell the public about what really happens in the dark places of our society — the political backrooms and corporate boardrooms," said ABC investigations editor Jo Puccini. How to get in contact with ABC journalists If you want to use SecureDrop to provide anonymous tips or documents to the ABC visit our SecureDrop page. Please read the instructions carefully and bear in mind this advice from the SecureDrop website: "[Any organisation] that promises 100 per cent security is not telling the truth. The goal of SecureDrop is to create a significantly more secure environment for sources to share information than exists through normal digital channels, but there are always risks." SecureDrop not only significantly reduces the trail of metadata left by any source-journalist communication, but it also removes third parties such as telecommunication companies and ISPs from the communication almost entirely. That means only the ABC will have access to the information, with the data relating to the communication safely encrypted. We're also launching a range of other secure communication options for getting in touch with ABC journalists. How SecureDrop works SecureDrop was created by US technologist Aaron Swartz and since his death has been maintained by the US not-for-profit, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF). The ABC's SecureDrop installation operates from a server unconnected to its main site; it does not record logs and it does not use tracking cookies; the application does not record your IP address or information about your browser, computer or operating system. SecureDrop relies on anonymising software including the Tails operating system, the Tor network and GnuPG encryption. Its code is open source and every major change to SecureDrop by FPF has been audited by external experts. It's a sad commentary on our times that SecureDrop is necessary: we hope one day it isn't. Until that day arrives, help the ABC continue to deliver on your right to know: if you have information that the public deserves to know about, visit the ABC's SecureDrop page. _______________________________________________ Link mailing list Link@mailman.anu.edu.au http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
