Sensible combination of cryptography, privacy tools and OPSEC practices that could help investigative journalists protect their information souces in the age of mass-surveillance and metadata retention

1. Help! I am an Investigative
Journalist in 2017
Whistleblowers Australia Annual Conference
2016-11-20

2. About me
Gabor Szathmari
@gszathmari
• Information security
professional
• Privacy, free speech and
open gov’t advocate
• CryptoParty organiser
• CryptoAUSTRALIA
founder (coming soon)

3. Agenda
Investigative journalism:
• Why should we care?
• Threats and abuses
• Surveillance techniques
• What can the reporters do?

4. Why should we care about
investigative journalism?

5. Investigative journalism
• Cornerstone of democracy
• Social control over gov’t and private sector
• When the formal channels fail to address
the problem
• Relies on information sources

6. SnowdenManning

7. Tyler Shultz

8. Paul Stevenson

9. Benjamin Koh

10. Threats and abuses
against investigative journalism

11. Threats
• Lack of data (opaque gov’t)
• Journalists are imprisoned for doing
their jobs
• Sources are afraid to speak out

12. Journalists’ Privilege
• Evidence Amendment (Journalists’
Privilege) Act 2011
• Telecommunications (Interception and
Access) Amendment (Data Retention)
Act 2015

13. Recent Abuses
• The Guardian: Federal police admit seeking
access to reporter's metadata without warrant !
• The Intercept: Secret Rules Makes it Pretty Easy
for the FBI to Spy on Journalists "
• CBC News: La Presse columnist says he was
put under police surveillance as part of 'attempt
to intimidate’ #

14. Surveillance techniques

15. Brief History of Interception
First cases:
• Postal Service - Black Chambers 1700s
• Telegraph - American Civil War 1860s
• Telephone - 1890s
• Short wave radio -1940s / 50s
• Satellite (international calls) - ECHELON 1970s

16. Recent Programs (2000s - )
• Text messages, mobile phone - DISHFIRE, DCSNET,
Stingray
• Internet - Carnivore, NarusInsight, Tempora
• Services (e.g. Google, Yahoo) - PRISM, MUSCULAR
• Metadata: MYSTIC, ADVISE, FAIRVIEW, STORMBREW
• Data visualisation: XKEYSCORE, BOUNDLESSINFORMANT
• End user device exploitation: HAVOK, FOXACID

17. So how I can defend myself?

18. Data Protection 101
•Encrypt sensitive data* in transit
•Encrypt sensitive data* at rest
* Documents, text messages, voice calls etc.

19. Old Times
• Ancient history: Caesar cipher, Polybus square,
Scytale cipher
• 15th century: Vigenére cipher, Cipher disk, Cipher
square
• 17th century: Jefferson disk cipher
• 20th century: One-time pads, Rotor machines
(Enigma, Lorenz)

20. Lorenz SZ42

21. Modern Uses
• PGP (1991), PGPfone
(1995)
• HTTPS (1994)
• OpenVPN (2001), IPSEC
(1995)
• Tor (2002)
• Skype (2003, early days)
• Disk encryption:
TrueCrypt (2004), BitLocker
• End-to-end encryption
(2010s)
• Signal, ChatSecure
• Messenger, WhatsApp,
Google Allo

22. How all this applies to an
investigative journalist?

23. Data Protection 101
• Encrypt sensitive data* in transit
• Encrypt sensitive data* at rest
* Documents, text messages, voice calls etc.

24. Encrypt the Data in Transit
• Web: HTTPS,
DuckDuckGo
• Email: PGP
• Text and voice
calls (e2ee):
Signal, Threema
• Group chat (e2ee):
Semaphor,
ClearChat,
Crypho
• Video calls (e2ee):
Wire, Tox.im

25. Encrypt the Data at Rest
• Local hard-disks and USB drives
• macOS: FileVault, Windows: BitLocker,
Linux: LUKS
• Cloud file storage
• Zero-knowledge services:
Sync.com, TresorIt, SpiderOak

26. Data Protection 101
•Encrypt sensitive data* in transit
•Encrypt sensitive data* at rest
* Documents, text messages, voice calls etc.

28. ????
What did we miss?

29. Why?
• Metadata retention
• State sponsored hacking

30. What about metadata?
• Mass collection
• Retained for 2 years
• Links you to the information source
• Easy to apply link analysis

31. IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook

32. What about gov’t hacking?
Tailored Access Operations (TAO)
• Backdooring routers, switches, and firewalls
• Backdooring laptops purchased online
• Backdooring your laptop by phishing
• Backdooring your laptop by exploits (“FOXACID”)

33. On a Security Conference

34. How all this applies to an
investigative journalist?
Round 2

35. Data Protection 101 (for journalists!)
• Encrypt sensitive data in transit
• Encrypt sensitive data at rest
• Work in a secure environment
(i.e write articles and communicate with info sources)
• Hide the metadata
• Compartmentalise your work
• Solve the first contact problem

36. Secure environment
Work on a device that is free of backdoors:
• Anonymity: Tails operating system
• Security: Qubes OS
• Security & Anonymity: Qubes OS + Whonix

37. Hide that metadata
Chat:
• Ricochet IM
File Exchange:
• OnionShare

38. Compartmentalise
Limits the
damage done
when you are
hacked

39. Compartmentalise (cont’d)
• Separate laptop for research & comms
• One email address per source
• One USB drive per source
• Unique password on any website

40. First contact problem
• Allow information sources contact you
anonymously
• SecureDrop
• GlobaLeaks

42. Two actually …

43. A word on smartphones
Your phone is a spying machine:
• Doesn’t matter what model it is
• Leave your phone at home

44. The most secure tool
•Pen
•Paper

45. Wrapping it up

46. Security and privacy is hard…
• Surveillance is very sophisticated as
technology has advanced
• Metadata retention practices and data mining
technologies will link you to the info source
• The Peeping Toms are on your smartphone
and laptop

47. …but not hopeless
• Encrypt everything
• Use a secure
operating system
• Use pen and paper
• Hide the metadata
• Compartmentalise
• Leave your
smartphone home
• Solve the first contact
problem

48. Further info
• Tweet me on @gszathmari
• CryptoAUSTRALIA (soon): https://cryptoaustralia.org.au
• Join a CryptoParty: https://cryptoparty.in/sydney
• https://www.privacytools.io
• https://prism-break.org
• https://privacyforjournalists.org.au

49. Questions?

50. Sources
• The History of Information Security: A Comprehensive Handbook
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_noir
• http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/2016/02/15/a-very-brief-history-of-interception/
• https://inforrm.wordpress.com/2016/02/21/a-very-brief-history-of-interception-in-the-britain-bernard-keenan/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_government_mass_surveillance_projects
• http://www.computerworld.com/article/2476515/network-security/the-security-flaws-in-tails-linux-are-not-its-only-problem.html
• https://freedom.press/blog/2014/04/operating-system-can-protect-you-even-if-you-get-hacked
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/14/federal-police-admit-seeking-access-to-reporters-metadata-without-warrant
• https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160829/06300835377/australian-government-using-data-retention-law-to-seek-out-journalists-sources-hunt-down-whistleblowers.shtml
• https://theintercept.com/2016/06/30/secret-rules-make-it-pretty-easy-for-the-fbi-to-spy-on-journalists/
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/journalist-patrick-lagace-police-surveillance-spying-1.3828832
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_tapping
• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/nyregion/a-short-history-of-wiretapping.html