7 ms·
Feels a bit overkill and way too identifying - security cameras + internet records + GPS locations will all help track you down, even if they are intermittent.
by confluence 13y ago
Feels a bit overkill and way too identifying - security cameras + internet records + GPS locations will all help track you down, even if they are intermittent.
Buy a stack of envelopes from a supermarket. Buy a stack of stamps. Buy a USB. Acquire all with cash. Transfer all files to the USB via live CD - make sure all meta-data is stripped and files are redacted to avoid fingering you. Handle the envelopes/stamps/USB with care - gloves + hairnets + have a shower before handling (skin cells). Print the addresses (be careful here - printers sometimes put identifying marks - get the most common inkjet that doesn't use dots). Print a message and stick it in the envelope - e.g. "USB contains leaked NSA documents on massive domestic spying. Copy files to your computer then destroy and dump USB then burn the envelope to ensure your own security." Put the stamp on. Drop the letter in the mailbox - try and get a journalist's home address, they'll read it.
Repeat for multi-journalist dump.
Make sure you don't lick the stamps and drop the letters off in physically separated postboxes without security cameras.
You do not want to be in constant communication with journalists/people whilst doing any of this, because the more you talk with them, the more you leak. You want to just strip all identifying data, dump your leak, and run. This tactic has been used for ages to transfer sensitive data, most notably by kidnappers (ransom notes), spies (easy data transfer), whistle blowers (documents) and serial killers (think Ted Kaczynski).
- eli 13y agoBeing completely anonymous with no method for followup questions makes it difficult for the journalist to publish your leak. I suggest you be very patient if you go this route as any reputable journalist will have to independently find another source or verify the documents.
- confluence 13y agoA multi-journalist dump + impressive documents + ambitious journalists + at their home addresses = highly likely publication without getting you sent to Gitmo. Make sure journalists are already on side with you though - aka people that have already argued against whatever cause you wish to damage. However, if the documents are uniquely identifying and of incredible importance then you will want to go public, and you will want to go loud; have your face plastered everywhere, documents in every conceivable location, send them to thousands of journalists via email, scream your identity to the roof tops, don't go to ground, go to press conferences, and leave the country if at all possible before you do go loud.
- sitkack 13y agoToo much work. Watch homeland and drink amazing wine on your 100K+ salary. Tearfully wish the country wasn't descending into the cauldron ...
- eli 13y agoI think that's both unfair and inaccurate. You don't want someone to publish a story based a single anonymous source and unverified documents. That's how bogus stories about Benghazi emails or George W Bush's military record get made.
- btilly 13y agoI am positive that you have the facts about George W. Bush's military record wrong. The real story there is that all of the pertinent facts, with evidence, appeared in the BBC. Greg Palast was responsible for a lot of it. When CBS wanted to report on the story, they were given all of that, then went and did their own digging. In the process of digging they were given a perfect memo that they ran with without authenticating properly. The memo turned out to be too good to be true, and was a forgery. The result is that everyone was left believing that the whole thing was based on a forgery. But it wasn't. All of the key facts were uncovered earlier by the BBC and the planted forgery was merely a clever way to discredit the story. After Dan Rather painfully took a public fall over it, the issue became radioactive for all US media organizations. See http://www.gregpalast.com/dan-crashes-bush-flies-high/ http://www.gregpalast.com/dan-crashes-bush-flies-high/ for Greg Palast's view on what happened to Dan Rather.
- eli 13y agoI don't care about George W Bush's military record and I don't think it changes my point.
- btilly 13y agoI do not disagree with your point, but your example undermined it. It is therefore an example that you should avoid in the future. When I find out that I've had the facts on an important issue wrong, my response is to say, "Thank you," because I learned something. shrug
- sliverstorm 13y agoYou can provide avenues for followups without compromising anonymity. This is one of the things dead drops are for.
- 300bps 13y ago>Print the addresses (be careful here - printers sometimes put identifying marks - get the most common one) Printer steganography is usually limited to color laser printers and high-end inkjets. Buying a common one unfortunately won't help you. Included in the codes that have been cracked is the serial number of the printer as well as a date and time stamp of the printout. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_steganography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_steganography
- confluence 13y agoCut the letters out of a common magazine or newspaper then.
- adlpz 13y agoJust write with a thick generic pen using your non-dominant hand.
- jabbernotty 13y agoUse a letter stencil? One of those plastic stencils.
- adlpz 13y agoThat should do it too, you can even make it yourself with a piece of cardboard and a sharp knife.
- monsterix 13y agoProbably take fingerprints of someone on the envelope too? Randomize it and complicate it so much that the idea of finding you dies the most desperate death. Ha ha, the situation feels 'arrived' at fictional level already!
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 13y agoCut the common letters out of a newspaper or magazine.