The Intercept
How to Contact The Intercept Anonymously
If this is your first time using The Intercept’s SecureDrop server, read this page carefully first. For more detailed operational security advice, read the
How to Leak to The Intercept blog post.
The Intercept is serious about protecting our sources. With
our SecureDrop server, you can share messages and files with our
journalists in a way that should help you remain secure and anonymous,
even from us. Messages and files that you send to us will be encrypted.
How to Use The Intercept’s SecureDrop Server
Everything you do on the Internet leaves trails. Before following
these instructions, go to a public wifi network, such as at a coffee
shop that you don’t normally frequent, and follow them from there. Or
connect to a VPN.
- Download and install the Tor Browser Bundle from https://www.torproject.org/.
- Open the Tor Browser and copy and paste this into the address bar: https://y6xjgkgwj47us5ca.onion/
- Follow the instructions to send us information. You will be given a
codename that you can use to log back in and check for responses in the
future.
Don’t access our SecureDrop server from your home or office. If you wish to ensure maximum privacy, use the Tails operating system instead of the Tor Browser.
SecureDrop is an open source whistleblower submission systems, originally programmed by the late Aaron Swartz, that is maintained by the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Privacy Information
Our SecureDrop servers are under the physical control of The Intercept‘s
staff. When you interact with our SecureDrop servers, we don’t log any
information about your IP address, web browser, or operating system, nor
do we deliver persistent cookies to your browser. When you use Tor to
connect to our SecureDrop server, your connection is encrypted. Using
the Tor network helps mask your activity from anyone that is monitoring
your Internet connection, and it helps mask your identity from anyone
monitoring our Internet connection.
When you send messages or upload files to this server, these messages and files are stored encrypted. Journalists at The Intercept
store the encryption keys on air-gapped computers that never connect to
the Internet. Even if our SecureDrop server got hacked or the physical
hardware got confiscated, the messages and files you have submitted
previously should still be shielded from the attacker.
However, no system is 100% secure, so we cannot absolutely guarantee
your security. SecureDrop is regularly audited by independent security
experts, but like all software, it could have security bugs that could
be exploited by attackers.
If the computer you are using to submit documents is already
compromised, any activities, including communications through
SecureDrop, could be compromised as well.
Ultimately, you use the service at your own risk.
