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The BBC should be much more careful with their operational security, especially in volatile situations like this. Why weren't they establishing a secure communi

by trome 10y ago

The BBC should be much more careful with their operational security, especially in volatile situations like this. Why weren't they establishing a secure communication channel with the person they were meeting with beforehand, livestreaming their trip back to BBC HQ (documentation), and having an agent buy their tickets/hotels so it looked like a local was going instead of the BBC?

pjc50 10y ago
> establishing a secure communication channel with the person they were meeting with beforehand How? Would that be illegal in itself in China? > livestreaming their trip back to BBC HQ Maybe doable if the local phone reception is good enough and not blocked (remember, the great firewall throttles VPNs) > having an agent buy their tickets/hotels so it looked like a local was going instead of the BBC? Is this in and of itself legal in China? Or is it one of those places where you have to register your passport number at the hotel? Part of travelling as a journalist is doing so openly as much as possible - covert journalism runs the risk of being deemed espionage, which can result in a death sentence.
- mediumdeviation 10y ago
  >> having an agent buy their tickets/hotels so it looked like a local was going instead of the BBC? It is not legal, no. Travel on railway and plane and booking hotels all require you to present your ID, as is signing up for a mobile phone.
westiseast 10y ago
Good point - first things that come to mind: They interview lots of people with no problems, and they don't know which ones will kick off. They are reporters and their visas are journalist visas. There's no quicker way for them to get kicked out of the country than doing clandestine reporting that embarrasses the government and breaks the law. Lastly, this is the story. In all honesty, people will probably care more about 'BBC journalists attacked' than they would the original 'Chinese citizens human rights abuses'.
mikeash 10y ago
I imagine they will in the future. The reporter says this was "my first in my long reporting experience in China" so I imagine they didn't think they needed to do this sort of thing before.
- trome 10y ago
  Probably, but they are playing with peoples lives (as reporters do in every country) and they should take some basic precautions, say mailing them an encrypted mSD with a silence.im APK onboard so they can establish a vaguely secure communications channel. Most attackers (low level, local politicians) will be unable to break this most of the time, which would make for a safer situation for all involved. I think that this should be standard procedure in every country, subbing in Signal Private Messenger where it isn't blocked.

by trome 10y ago

pjc50 10y ago

> establishing a secure communication channel with the person they were meeting with beforehand How? Would that be illegal in itself in China? > livestreaming their trip back to BBC HQ Maybe doable if the local phone reception is good enough and not blocked (remember, the great firewall throttles VPNs) > having an agent buy their tickets/hotels so it looked like a local was going instead of the BBC? Is this in and of itself legal in China? Or is it one of those places where you have to register your passport number at the hotel? Part of travelling as a journalist is doing so openly as much as possible - covert journalism runs the risk of being deemed espionage, which can result in a death sentence.

mediumdeviation 10y ago
>> having an agent buy their tickets/hotels so it looked like a local was going instead of the BBC? It is not legal, no. Travel on railway and plane and booking hotels all require you to present your ID, as is signing up for a mobile phone.

westiseast 10y ago

Good point - first things that come to mind: They interview lots of people with no problems, and they don't know which ones will kick off. They are reporters and their visas are journalist visas. There's no quicker way for them to get kicked out of the country than doing clandestine reporting that embarrasses the government and breaks the law. Lastly, this is the story. In all honesty, people will probably care more about 'BBC journalists attacked' than they would the original 'Chinese citizens human rights abuses'.

mikeash 10y ago

I imagine they will in the future. The reporter says this was "my first in my long reporting experience in China" so I imagine they didn't think they needed to do this sort of thing before.

trome 10y ago
Probably, but they are playing with peoples lives (as reporters do in every country) and they should take some basic precautions, say mailing them an encrypted mSD with a silence.im APK onboard so they can establish a vaguely secure communications channel. Most attackers (low level, local politicians) will be unable to break this most of the time, which would make for a safer situation for all involved. I think that this should be standard procedure in every country, subbing in Signal Private Messenger where it isn't blocked.