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Advances in digital communication technologies, and their proliferation in recent decades, have had a remarkable impact on journalism. Security weaknesses in these technologies have put journalists and their sources increasingly at risk, hindering efforts at investigative reporting, transparency, and whistleblowing. Because of their willingness to be early adopters, and to openly communicate their issues, journalists provide an opportunity to identify security issues and requirements in new communication methods. This project will study the current computer security mental models and practices of journalists and their sources, and to ultimately design technology to better meet their needs. The resulting tools will be released as open source and deployed to directly benefit journalists and their sources, as well as other users of technology, ultimately helping to protect and improve freedoms of speech and of the press both nationally and internationally.
The vulnerabilities in how journalists (and users in general) communicate and store sensitive information result from several factors, including usability problems with existing tools, a mismatch between mental models and the real security properties of the tools they use, and technological gaps in the tools available. To evaluate and address these issues, this project will proceed in two phases: first, studying the current practices of journalists via in-depth interviews and large-scale surveys, and second, designing new technologies to better meet their computer security needs. The second phase will leverage findings from the first phase to inform technical research, including the development of more usable tools for journalists leveraging existing computer security techniques, as well as the development of new computer security technologies (e.g., protocols or systems) where necessary. For example, this project will consider technical challenges such as protecting the metadata of communications and bootstrapping secure communications at first contact.
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CRII: SaTC: Improving Computer Security Technologies through Analyzing Security Needs and Practices of Journalists