Journalists Risk Putting Sources’ Lives in Jeopardy by Using Email

Journalists who use email to communicate receive sensitive materials from sources have been warned that they are putting both themselves and their contacts at risk, and are urged to switch to a safer alternative such as encrypted messaging appSafeSwiss.

The warning follows the recent release of a version of the SafeSwiss secure messaging app for PCs running Windows, which is available as a free download from SafeSwiss.com, alongside the popular existing versions of the app for iOS and Android.

In 2017 alone, a total of 22 journalists have been killed for their work, according to figures published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Recent crackdowns on press freedom include India's communication ministry recently issuing a rule that allows the government to temporarily shut down internet and telecommunications services in the event of "a public emergency or public safety ."

The SafeSwiss platform protects the identity of both journalists and sources because it does not require users to hand over personal details such as email addresses, phone number or even have a SIM card in order to set up an account.

Unlike email, the SafeSwiss platform’s is based on robust security and privacy is based on ephemeral messaging using cutting-edge end-to-end (E2E) 256K elliptic curve cryptography encryption, meaning messages can only be decrypted by the sender’s or recipient’s devices in both one-to-one and group communications.

In contrast, documents and messages that are sent by email are unencrypted, leaving them incredibly vulnerable to compromise by employers, hostile governments, law enforcement agencies, and other organisations that are cracking down on leakers and journalists.

Along with messages and file transfers, SafeSwiss supports secure peer-to-peer (P2P) voice calls and group voice conference calls, allowing for use in interviews without needing to exchange phone numbers.

in addition, journalists and sources also have peace of mind that the primary servers used by SafeSwiss are in Zurich, Switzerland, which has some of the world's strictest privacy protections. This means the service is beyond the legal reach of backdoor decryption demands of the US, UK, New Zealand and Australian governments.

To further protect users, SafeSwiss recently introduced an advanced new ‘push-to-delete’ feature that allows users to securely delete sent messages (along with pictures, documents and videos) from both a sender’s and recipient’s devices.

Along with deleting files across both devices, users can also opt to delete the message or file on just their device, allowing the recipient to continue viewing the message. The new delete functionality is in addition to the existing timed delete feature.

And unlike email, on SafeSwiss delete really means delete.

SafeSwiss CEO Tim Gallagher said: “The reality is that governments around the world are cracking down on press freedom, and in many parts of the world, journalists’ lives and livelihoods are often on the line.

“When sources putting their jobs, reputations, and lives on the line to leak information in the public interest, it is essential that journalists use the right tools to protect the identities of their confidential sources.

“SafeSwiss is the most secure option in the market when it comes to cutting-edge end-to-end (E2E) elliptic curve cryptography encryption in mobile messaging and VoIP apps, and we have now bought that same world-leading security to PCs running Windows.

“Creating a new SafeSwiss account is easy for both journalists and contacts. Users can select their own unique SafeSwiss ID, and are not required to hand over personal details such as email addresses, phone numbers or even have a SIM card.

“This goes a long way in eliminating some of the well-documented vulnerabilities associated with email/phone authentication, and the issues experienced by some of our competitors.”