Media Watch shows how journalists’ metadata puts sources at risk

Welcome. Your browser tells me that you are in and your unique internet protocol (IP) address is which is enough data for governments and corporations to track your every move online. You should hide this information by using a VPN.

Media Watch has broadcast a great story on how governments’ metadata retention laws put journalistic freedom/oversight and sources at risk by making it easy for government agencies to track down public interest disclosures by whistleblowers.

If you are a journalist, you must take steps now to protect your sources.  At a minimum, you should always be using:

  • virtual private network service (VPN) app at all times on your mobile smart phone
  • a secure messaging app like Wickr (the app the Australian Communications Minister uses to circumvent his own government’s metadata retention laws).

You need to be running the VPN app on your mobile phone so your metadata, and your source’s metadata, can’t be time match to both of you using the secure messaging app at the same time.

You can read my post on secure messaging apps by clicking here
and
read my post on VPN services by clicking here.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.