Securing Whistleblowing in the Digital Age: SecureDrop and the Changing Journalistic Practices for Source Protection

Abstract

Information security tools have gained prominence and importance in the journalism field and are now being adopted more frequently by newsrooms and investigative journalists. SecureDrop, an opensource software for operating whistleblowing platforms, is now a common component of the toolboxes of journalists willing to work with stronger levels of security, especially in regard to source protection. By means of a content analysis of publicly available documents and semi-structured interviews with journalists using the software, this article looks at news organizations' uses of SecureDrop, journalists' perceptions of the software's strengths and limitations, and the accountability practices adopted by news organizations in regard to their use of SecureDrop. Overall, this article contributes to the understanding of how SecureDrop and information security in general are entering the journalistic field and becoming accepted journalistic practices.

Information Security and Cryptography-Encryption in Journalism

“…P. Di Salvo [34] SecureDrop usage in countries where journalism hasn't developed yet still need to be researched.…”

“…P. Di Salvo [34] European ICIJ investigative journalists opined that Information Security education & training is very important.…”

Information security and journalism: Mapping a nascent research field

“…More recently, Luke Heemsbergen (2021) has examined whistleblowing platforms—or “leaks sites”—in the historical and theoretical context of radical transparency and democracy, pointing at how whistleblowing and leaks may enable new forms of democracy, connecting WikiLeaks to other platforms that followed (2021). In particular, SecureDrop has been analyzed in the context of its use by English‐language mainstream news outlets (Di Salvo, 2021a) and has been indicated as a potential sourcing strategy when it comes to leaks from controversial sources, such as hackers (Di Salvo & Porlezza, 2020). Overall, open‐source whistleblowing platforms have also been studied in regard to news outlets’ transparency and accountability practices toward sources and the public and in the context of journalistic collaborations (Porlezza & Di Salvo, 2020).…”

Towards the Design of Effective Whistleblowing Systems

“…Virtual whistleblowing takes place in online contexts, is anonymous, and often avails specific private networks to transmit information external to the organization where the wrongdoing took place [65]. Di Salvo [67] highlights two weaknesses of virtual whistleblowing. First, whistleblowers may still have their anonymity compromised despite best efforts.…”