Meet SecureDrop: The Open Source Submission System For Whistleblowers

Whistleblowing is the trend these days, and in spite of the strongly differing opinions on the matter, it seems that people who have some secrets to share won’t be stopped. After all, with strong convictions and other entities lending their support, why shouldn’t whistleblowers bring to light things that the public should know? Of course, being a whistleblower runs a lot of risk.

Enter SecureDrop, “an open-source whistleblower submission system”.

The system is managed by Freedom of the Press Foundation and was coded by none other than Aaron Schwartz.

SecureDrop is meant for news organizations who want a system whereby sources can securely submit information of the sensitive kind. According to the Foundation, any news organization can install SecureDrop. More so, they will be providing assistance in terms of installation and after support in the near future.

JP Barlow, co-founder and board member of Freedom of the Press Foundation, sheds some light on the ideology underlying the submission system:

“We’ve reached a time in America when the only way the press can assure the anonymity and safety of their sources is not to know who they are. SecureDrop is where real news can be slipped quietly under the door.”

How secure is the system?

The brains behind SecureDrop are quick to admit that all security systems have vulnerabilities, they are also confident that their “product” is the strongest available to the media. That may very well be true, but I can’t help but wonder what the NSA and its elite hacking team are doing about this now.

In any case, the Foundation is certainly taking even more steps to ensure the security of their system. They have their own security specialists, as well as external security auditors who have taken a look at the integrity of the system.

Got sensitive information that you want the world to know? You might want to check this out.

[Image via acc-tv]