Surveillance of Journalists/Encryption Issues

Abstract

Journalists and their sources across the world are increasingly vulnerable to digital attacks from state and nonstate adversaries, which can threaten source confidentiality and undermine news work. Lack of knowledge about how to integrate defensive measures and digital security such as encryption into everyday routinized news work is a considerable challenge for journalists and has been highlighted by a number of studies. Research has found journalists and their sources do not sufficiently understand data anonymization or digital communication security. They also highlight perceived lack of usability of encryption tools, which hinders their uptake among journalists. Such arguments are widespread in the journalistic community and put at risk the ability of journalists to guarantee the safety of their sources—be they whistleblowers or not—in a complex digital communications landscape.

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

“…Results also show also how the growing adoption of encryption tools and wider attention to the issue of information security are definitely some of the most visible elements of the so-called "Snowden effect" (Gorman 2017) on journalism. In other words, the overall impact of the case on the practice of journalism, together with the greater availability of other tools, is helping journalists protect their work (Angwin 2017;O'Brien 2015;Thorsen 2019).…”

Haber Kaynaklarının Korunması Meselesinde Kadim Çelişkiler, Yeni Sorunlar: Dijital Güvenlik Odaklı Bir Perspektife Doğru

“…Rutin dışı haber kaynağı kategorisine tipik olarak uyan bir bilgi uçurucu olarak Edward Snowden; ABD Ulusal Güvenlik Dairesi (NSA) için sözleşme karşılığı çalıştığı süreçte kurumda gizli tutulan belgeleri elde edip, 2013'te belgeleri gazetecilere sızdırarak, ABD Hükümeti'nin NSA'in faaliyetleriyle telekomünikasyon şirketi Verizon'a abone 120 milyon ABD yurttaşının cep telefonu kayıtlarını ve meta verilerini topladığını ifşa etmiştir. "PRISM" isimli istihbarat programıyla Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube ve Apple sunucularından kullanıcı verilerine doğrudan erişildiğini göstermiş; kitle gözetimi faaliyetlerinin ABD'yle sınırlı olmadığı, ABD ve Birleşik Krallık, Kanada, Yeni Zelanda, Avustralya (Five Eyes Countries) hükümetlerinin dijital gözetim konusunda iş birliği yaptığı kayda geçmiştir (Thorsen, 2019). Snowden ifşaatları, teknoloji devleri ve platformlara bağımlılığın haber kaynağının korunması bağlamında içerdiği potansiyel tehdit ve riskleri gözler önüne sermesiyle literatürde bir kırılım noktası olarak sıklıkla değinilen bir vakadır.…”

Mobile Journalists as Traceable Data Objects: Surveillance Capitalism and Responsible Innovation in Mobile Journalism

“…Anyone relying on technologies and infrastructures optimized for data extraction and profiling can become radically transparent for a range of actors (Christl & Spiekermann, 2016). As discussed above, journalists have always been a risk group and a main target for surveillance (Crete-Nishihata et al, 2020;Thorsen, 2019;Waters, 2018). It is well known that a range of actors in different parts of the world, such as secret services, police authorities, and other players, seek to monitor journalists' interactions and to access data stored on their computers (Henrichsen, Betz, & Lisosky, 2015).…”