Backdoor’s investigations rely on documents and on people willing to talk. If you hold information of public interest about finance, crypto-assets or cybersecurity, you can share it with us through one of the channels below. Every message is read and handled by the editorial team.
Our commitments
- Your identity is never disclosed, neither in our articles nor to anyone else. The confidentiality of journalists’ sources is protected by Article 2 of the French press freedom law of 29 July 1881.
- No document is published as is if it could identify you. We check every piece of information with other sources before publication.
- You remain free to share only what you wish, and to end the exchange at any time.
1. Signal
Signal encrypts messages end to end. Neither your carrier, nor Signal, nor anyone else can read them. It is the simplest way to talk to us confidentially.
- Editorial team’s Signal username: [TO BE COMPLETED]
- Use a username yourself, and hide your phone number (Settings, Privacy, Phone number).
- Turn on disappearing messages in the conversation.
2. Encrypted email
- Address: contact@backdoor.news, hosted by Proton (Switzerland).
- From a Proton Mail address, end-to-end encryption is automatic.
- From another email provider, you can encrypt your message with our PGP public key: [TO BE COMPLETED: download link and key fingerprint].
- Ideally, create a dedicated address with no link to your name or employer.
3. SecureDrop (coming soon)
We are setting up SecureDrop, the anonymous submission system used by many international newsrooms to receive documents from whistleblowers. It will be available soon; its address will be published on this page.
What is SecureDrop? Open-source software developed and audited by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a US non-profit organisation that defends press freedom. It lets you send documents and messages to a newsroom without ever revealing your identity, including to the newsroom itself.
How does it work?
- You open Tor Browser, which hides your IP address and location, then enter Backdoor’s SecureDrop address, an “.onion” address that can only be reached through the Tor network.
- You upload your documents and your message. No account, email address or phone number is required.
- SecureDrop gives you a random code name made up of several words. Write it down: it is the only way to come back, read any questions we may have and reply.
- On our side, files are encrypted as soon as they arrive. They are only opened on a dedicated computer that is never connected to the internet. The server keeps neither your IP address nor your browser fingerprint.
Even under pressure, we could not reveal who you are: we do not know.
Precautions before contacting us
- Never use a device, network or messaging account provided by your employer. Use a personal phone or computer, on a network other than your company’s.
- Remove metadata from documents (author, date, device). A photo of a screen or document often contains the date, location and phone model: remove this information before sending.
- Be careful with unique documents: if few people have access to them, publishing them may point to their source. Let’s discuss it before you send anything.
- Do not talk about what you are doing, even to trusted colleagues.
- For extra privacy, visit this site using Tor Browser.
What we do not do
We do not pay for information, and we do not publish rumours. Information is only published once it has been verified and cross-checked, and the people concerned are always given the opportunity to respond before publication.