Difference between revisions of "Wikispooks:Anonymous Submissions"

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The WikiSpooks Anonymous upload facility is provided to help Whistleblowers put sensitive information into the public domain without releasing their identity. ''It is not intended as the primary means of having documents published on WikiSpooks.'' Unless anonymity is of fundamental importance, the best way of publishing a document file is through the [[Special:Upload|'Regular file upload']] page, available to all registered users. Files uploaded using this option are immediately available to both view and edit on the WikiSpooks site.
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'''As of January 2017, Wikispooks has withdrawn provision of an Anonymous file upload upload facility.'''
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Anonymous submissions are still welcome but, in view of low historical usage of the secure upload-form facility, pgp-encrypted email (with or without file attachments) is the only practical method available for the site. Use of pgp-encryption with a single-use email address over a public WiFi facility is probably as 'anonymous' as was the discontinued form.
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'''Note:''' Unless anonymity is of fundamental importance, the best way to publish a document file on Wikispooks is through the [[Special:Upload|'Regular file upload']] page, available to all registered users. Files uploaded using this option are immediately available to both view and edit on the Wikispooks site.
  
 
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{| style="width:100%; background:#f6f6f6; border:1px solid #ccc;"proper precations   
 
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Anonymous Communications with WikiSpooks
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Anonymous Communications with Wikispooks
 
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*[[WikiSpooks:PGP Public Key|WikiSpooks PGP Public Encryption key]]
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*[[Wikispooks:PGP Public Key|Wikispooks PGP Public Encryption key]]
*[https://wikispooks.com/anon/anon-ul.html WikiSpooks Anonymous Uploads Form]
 
*[[Anonymous Uploads Received|Latest/Pending Anonymous Uploads Received]]
 
 
*[[:Category:Anonymous submissions|Existing files documents and and pages in the '''Anonymous submissions category''']]
 
*[[:Category:Anonymous submissions|Existing files documents and and pages in the '''Anonymous submissions category''']]
 
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== What Wikispooks does with an anonymous submission ==
== Secure anonymous upload form ==
 
Anonymous uploads are handled outside the MediaWiki platform that runs the bulk of this site. This is because a feature of MediaWiki is that it logs EVERY normal edit and upload, assigning it to either a user ID (in the case of registered users) or the originating IP address (in the case of anonymous users - when edits and uploads are allowed). '''The WikiSpooks secure anonymous upload form is not part of the MediaWiki software platform that runs the main WikiSpooks site'''. It does NOT log your IP address and your file will only be imported into the main WikiSpooks MediaWiki software by an Administrator after vetting and anonymising etc.
 
 
 
*Click here to go to the [https://wikispooks.com/anon/anon-ul.html Secure anonymous upload form]
 
 
 
== What WikiSpooks does with an anonymous submission ==
 
 
# '''The received file name is entered in a simple, publicly accessible list''' on the '[[Anonymous Uploads Received]]' page, topmost entry latest. This is a manual process and may take up to two days from actual receipt of the upload. The purpose of the page is simply to give uploaders additional confidence that the file upload was successful. There is no receipt date/time entered since this could become a major input for anyone trying to trace the source of the information. '''Note:''' The actual upload file name is listed, '''NOT''' the file(s) contained inside any zip file at this stage.
 
# '''The received file name is entered in a simple, publicly accessible list''' on the '[[Anonymous Uploads Received]]' page, topmost entry latest. This is a manual process and may take up to two days from actual receipt of the upload. The purpose of the page is simply to give uploaders additional confidence that the file upload was successful. There is no receipt date/time entered since this could become a major input for anyone trying to trace the source of the information. '''Note:''' The actual upload file name is listed, '''NOT''' the file(s) contained inside any zip file at this stage.
# '''Subject it to preliminary vetting for WikiSpooks suitability'''.
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# '''Subject it to preliminary vetting for Wikispooks suitability'''.
 
# '''If judged suitable'''  
 
# '''If judged suitable'''  
 
#* reformat the submission to remove any possibility of it being traceable back to the originator.
 
#* reformat the submission to remove any possibility of it being traceable back to the originator.
 
#* forward it to at least three other sites that actively solicit "whistlebower" information.
 
#* forward it to at least three other sites that actively solicit "whistlebower" information.
#* publish the document to WikiSpooks with a skeleton explanatory page. This page can be viewed by anybody and edited by registered users
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#* publish the document to Wikispooks with a skeleton explanatory page. This page can be viewed by anybody and edited by registered users
 
# '''If judged unsuitable on preliminary vetting'''  
 
# '''If judged unsuitable on preliminary vetting'''  
#* seek the consensus view of WikiSpooks administrators.
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#* seek the consensus view of Wikispooks administrators.
 
#** If majority administrator view is "suitable" proceed with steps outlined at 3.
 
#** If majority administrator view is "suitable" proceed with steps outlined at 3.
#** If majority administrator view is "unsuitable", remove the submission from WikiSpooks servers.
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#** If majority administrator view is "unsuitable", remove the submission from Wikispooks servers.
 
 
== Email Submissions ==
 
Where the submission is by email (with or without an attachment), WikiSpooks may engage in brief email correspondence regarding submission provenance etc. At the discretion of WikiSpooks administrators, such correspondence may qualify for WikiSpooks publication. It is ''strongly'' advised that email exchanges be [[WikiSpooks:PGP Public Key|PGP encrypted]].
 
  
 
==More on the anonymous submission vetting process==
 
==More on the anonymous submission vetting process==
'''WikiSpooks focus is on the deceptions of authority epitomised by the {{ON}} of almost all events of significance affecting public policy and the exercise of power, together with the arbitrary and/or abusive exercise of power.''' That focus effectively defines the criteria for the suitability of anonymously received information for publication.  Anyone who is privy to such information and, with those criteria in mind, feels aggrieved, outraged or just plain public-spirited enough to wish to make it widely known, is likely to see it published on WikiSpooks and/or elsewhere following an anonymous upload.  
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'''Wikispooks focus is on the deceptions of authority epitomised by the {{ON}} of almost all events of significance affecting public policy and the exercise of power, together with the arbitrary and/or abusive exercise of power.''' That focus effectively defines the criteria for the suitability of anonymously received information for publication.  Anyone who is privy to such information and, with those criteria in mind, feels aggrieved, outraged or just plain public-spirited enough to wish to make it widely known, is likely to see it published on Wikispooks and/or elsewhere following an anonymous upload.  
  
A non-exclusive list of candidates for '''non'''-publication are: axe-grinding, agenda-promoting, disinformation, advertising, obvious spam and probably a few others - all with the caveat that disinformation (recognised or not) may make it to a WikiSpooks page anyway. Obvious examples of disinformation may be published for a bit of fun. ALL published anonymous uploads have a 'Registered User editable' and 'publicly readable' talk/discussion page attached.
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A non-exclusive list of candidates for '''non'''-publication are: axe-grinding, agenda-promoting, disinformation, advertising, obvious [[spam]] and probably a few others - all with the caveat that disinformation (recognised or not) may make it to a Wikispooks page anyway. Obvious examples of disinformation may be published for a bit of fun. ALL published anonymous uploads have a 'Registered User editable' and 'publicly readable' talk/discussion page attached.
  
 
== Tips on maintaining anonymity ==
 
== Tips on maintaining anonymity ==
'''There is no way to guarantee that any form of internet-based communication will remain anonymous.''' The internet surveillance activities of SIS's, their Agencies and contractors, together with their technical forensic capabilities, are simply too comprehensive to allow anyone using a single ISP and home computer to remain anonymous for long if their internet activities are of the remotest possible interest to Authority. The age of Orwell's 'Big Brother' really is upon us in other words. However, there are a number of simple steps you can take to increase the likelihood of a successful anonymous document submission to WikiSpooks:
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'''There is no way to guarantee that any form of internet-based communication will remain anonymous.''' The internet surveillance activities of SIS's, their Agencies and contractors, together with their technical forensic capabilities, are simply too comprehensive to allow anyone using a single ISP and home computer to remain anonymous for long if their internet activities are of the remotest possible interest to Authority. The age of Orwell's 'Big Brother' really is upon us in other words. However, there are a number of simple steps you can take to increase the likelihood of a successful anonymous document submission to Wikispooks:
  
 
# Use an anonymous proxy service such as [http://www.torproject.org/ Tor] for your submission.
 
# Use an anonymous proxy service such as [http://www.torproject.org/ Tor] for your submission.
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# Upload your file to a single recipient only - then wait a week or two to see what happens.  
 
# Upload your file to a single recipient only - then wait a week or two to see what happens.  
  
If you upload multiple files or to multiple recipients, the prospects of successful interception/diversion/copying by Authorities during transmission are correspondingly multiplied. If you upload to WikiSpooks, our first action after reformatting it to remove information that could tie it to a particular machine operating system and/or user, is to forward it to at least 3 other sites dedicated to shining light in dark places, so that multiple submissions should be unnecessary.  
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If you upload multiple files or to multiple recipients, the prospects of successful interception/diversion/copying by Authorities during transmission are correspondingly multiplied. If you upload to Wikispooks, our first action after reformatting it to remove information that could tie it to a particular machine operating system and/or user, is to forward it to at least 3 other sites dedicated to shining light in dark places, so that multiple submissions should be unnecessary.  
  
Remember that evidence of your having stored the document and sent it to WikiSpooks may remain on your computer and be accessible using forensic examination tools. An effective way of frustrating such forensics is to use a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD LiveCD] operating system to boot your computer before sending the document and to store the document using a system such as [http://www.truecrypt.org/ Truecrypt] which facilitates a "hidden encrypted volume" whose existence is [http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=plausible-deniability plausibly deniable] because it cannot be forensically proven to exist at all.
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Remember that evidence of your having stored the document and sent it to Wikispooks may remain on your computer and be accessible using forensic examination tools. An effective way of frustrating such forensics is to use a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD LiveCD] operating system to boot your computer before sending the document and to store the document using a system such as [http://www.truecrypt.org/ Truecrypt] which facilitates a "hidden encrypted volume" whose existence is [http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=plausible-deniability plausibly deniable] because it cannot be forensically proven to exist at all.
  
''Final judgement on what is and is not suitable for publication on this site rests of course with WikiSpooks administrators.''
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''Final judgement on what is and is not suitable for publication on this site rests of course with Wikispooks administrators.''
  
 
==A Final note on encryption and anonymity==
 
==A Final note on encryption and anonymity==
 
'''The nature of our surveillance society dictates that those who use encrypted communications and make strenuous attempts to maintain anonymity will be of considerably more interest to the SIS's and other 'Powers-That-Be' than those who do not. The value of such efforts therefore becomes a matter of judgment and warrants careful consideration.
 
'''The nature of our surveillance society dictates that those who use encrypted communications and make strenuous attempts to maintain anonymity will be of considerably more interest to the SIS's and other 'Powers-That-Be' than those who do not. The value of such efforts therefore becomes a matter of judgment and warrants careful consideration.
  
== WikiSpooks PGP public encryption key ==
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== Wikispooks PGP public encryption key ==
  
Click [[Project:PGP Public Key|here]] for the WikiSpooks PGP public encryption key and brief information about how to use it to encrypt your email exchanges with WikiSpooks.
+
Click [[Project:PGP Public Key|here]] for the Wikispooks PGP public encryption key and brief information about how to use it to encrypt your email exchanges with Wikispooks.
  
{{WikiSpooks Footer/Anonymous Uploads}}
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== See Also==
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* [http://leakdirectory.org/ Leak Directory] - Alternative sites you might find helpful
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* [[Project:Anonymous Submissions/Received]]
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{{Wikispooks Footer/Anonymous Submissions}}
  
[[Category:Anonymous uploads| ]]
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[[Category:Anonymous submissions| ]]

Latest revision as of 17:30, 14 October 2018

Envelopeopenindigo.png

As of January 2017, Wikispooks has withdrawn provision of an Anonymous file upload upload facility.

Anonymous submissions are still welcome but, in view of low historical usage of the secure upload-form facility, pgp-encrypted email (with or without file attachments) is the only practical method available for the site. Use of pgp-encryption with a single-use email address over a public WiFi facility is probably as 'anonymous' as was the discontinued form.

Note: Unless anonymity is of fundamental importance, the best way to publish a document file on Wikispooks is through the 'Regular file upload' page, available to all registered users. Files uploaded using this option are immediately available to both view and edit on the Wikispooks site.

What Wikispooks does with an anonymous submission

  1. The received file name is entered in a simple, publicly accessible list on the 'Anonymous Uploads Received' page, topmost entry latest. This is a manual process and may take up to two days from actual receipt of the upload. The purpose of the page is simply to give uploaders additional confidence that the file upload was successful. There is no receipt date/time entered since this could become a major input for anyone trying to trace the source of the information. Note: The actual upload file name is listed, NOT the file(s) contained inside any zip file at this stage.
  2. Subject it to preliminary vetting for Wikispooks suitability.
  3. If judged suitable
    • reformat the submission to remove any possibility of it being traceable back to the originator.
    • forward it to at least three other sites that actively solicit "whistlebower" information.
    • publish the document to Wikispooks with a skeleton explanatory page. This page can be viewed by anybody and edited by registered users
  4. If judged unsuitable on preliminary vetting
    • seek the consensus view of Wikispooks administrators.
      • If majority administrator view is "suitable" proceed with steps outlined at 3.
      • If majority administrator view is "unsuitable", remove the submission from Wikispooks servers.

More on the anonymous submission vetting process

Wikispooks focus is on the deceptions of authority epitomised by the Official Narrative of almost all events of significance affecting public policy and the exercise of power, together with the arbitrary and/or abusive exercise of power. That focus effectively defines the criteria for the suitability of anonymously received information for publication. Anyone who is privy to such information and, with those criteria in mind, feels aggrieved, outraged or just plain public-spirited enough to wish to make it widely known, is likely to see it published on Wikispooks and/or elsewhere following an anonymous upload.

A non-exclusive list of candidates for non-publication are: axe-grinding, agenda-promoting, disinformation, advertising, obvious spam and probably a few others - all with the caveat that disinformation (recognised or not) may make it to a Wikispooks page anyway. Obvious examples of disinformation may be published for a bit of fun. ALL published anonymous uploads have a 'Registered User editable' and 'publicly readable' talk/discussion page attached.

Tips on maintaining anonymity

There is no way to guarantee that any form of internet-based communication will remain anonymous. The internet surveillance activities of SIS's, their Agencies and contractors, together with their technical forensic capabilities, are simply too comprehensive to allow anyone using a single ISP and home computer to remain anonymous for long if their internet activities are of the remotest possible interest to Authority. The age of Orwell's 'Big Brother' really is upon us in other words. However, there are a number of simple steps you can take to increase the likelihood of a successful anonymous document submission to Wikispooks:

  1. Use an anonymous proxy service such as Tor for your submission.
  2. Use a private VPN service such as BTGuard so that all your internet site visits can be logged only by the VPN provider and NOT your ISP. Most VPN providers undertake to delete their logs daily but, as with all other 'anonymity' services the watchword should be Caveat Emptor.
  3. Use PGP encryption for your emails - See here for a simple effective open-source PGP email solution that Firefox browser users can get up and running in just a few minutes. There are also open source PGP solutions for MS Outlook, Thunderbird and assorted other email clients available here
  4. If you have more than one document file, bundle them into a single compressed Zip file.
  5. Upload your file to a single recipient only - then wait a week or two to see what happens.

If you upload multiple files or to multiple recipients, the prospects of successful interception/diversion/copying by Authorities during transmission are correspondingly multiplied. If you upload to Wikispooks, our first action after reformatting it to remove information that could tie it to a particular machine operating system and/or user, is to forward it to at least 3 other sites dedicated to shining light in dark places, so that multiple submissions should be unnecessary.

Remember that evidence of your having stored the document and sent it to Wikispooks may remain on your computer and be accessible using forensic examination tools. An effective way of frustrating such forensics is to use a LiveCD operating system to boot your computer before sending the document and to store the document using a system such as Truecrypt which facilitates a "hidden encrypted volume" whose existence is plausibly deniable because it cannot be forensically proven to exist at all.

Final judgement on what is and is not suitable for publication on this site rests of course with Wikispooks administrators.

A Final note on encryption and anonymity

The nature of our surveillance society dictates that those who use encrypted communications and make strenuous attempts to maintain anonymity will be of considerably more interest to the SIS's and other 'Powers-That-Be' than those who do not. The value of such efforts therefore becomes a matter of judgment and warrants careful consideration.

Wikispooks PGP public encryption key

Click here for the Wikispooks PGP public encryption key and brief information about how to use it to encrypt your email exchanges with Wikispooks.

See Also

Wikispooks logo.png Policy.png Wikispooks to do.png Tools2.png SMW.png Help.png