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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11If a source’s messages may have been exposed, first assess whether the source is in immediate danger. Stop discussing sensitive matters on the suspected channel, contact a trusted editor or newsroom security contact through a separately assessed route, and seek qualified digital-security help before attempting invasive cleanup. An exposure is not proof that an account or device was compromised, and no single checklist can establish what happened in an individual case.
1. Assess immediate safety and limit further exposure
Consider what could happen if the source’s identity or contact with you became known. Could they face arrest, violence, retaliation, or another immediate threat? The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) advises assessing both the source’s circumstances and an adversary’s capabilities; in some situations, temporary relocation may need consideration. If danger seems immediate, prioritize a safe, appropriate human-support route in the source’s location rather than troubleshooting a device.
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Do not put identifying details into ordinary messages while arranging help. Stop discussing sensitive matters on the channel or device you suspect was exposed. Tell a trusted editor or newsroom security contact using a route assessed separately from the suspected one. Preserve incident notices and a concise timeline in a secure place, but do not reflexively wipe, reinstall, or discard a device before getting specialist advice. The right handling depends on the case: CPJ notes that deleted content can sometimes be recovered, while RSF’s Digital Security Lab describes analysis services but does not set out a universal evidence-preservation procedure. See CPJ’s guidance on protecting confidential sources and RSF’s Digital Security Lab information.
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2. Choose the right specialist support
Different services address different needs. Attack analysis can help investigate indicators of compromise; incident response focuses on steps to secure devices and accounts or recover from an attack. Neither a referral nor an analysis result guarantees a particular finding or outcome.
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| Need | Potential route | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Analyze a suspected digital attack | RSF Digital Security Lab | RSF says journalists affected by a digital attack, or with good reason to believe they were attacked, can contact the lab. It lists analysis of devices for malware indicators, phishing attacks, and malicious account takeovers. The lab says civil forensic methods cannot prove the absence of malware; a negative finding does not establish that no malware is present. |
| Secure devices or seek help recovering from an attack | Access Now Digital Security Helpline | RSF points people needing incident response to Access Now’s Helpline. Confirm current availability, intake arrangements, and eligibility directly; access is not guaranteed. |
| Find further journalist-safety resources | CPJ Digital Safety Kit | CPJ’s kit provides journalists and editors with additional security resources and contact information for organizations assisting journalists at risk. |
| Consider U.S.-specific legal support | CPJ U.S. journalist safety kit | For U.S.-based journalists, CPJ’s kit points to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press resource and legal hotline. A referral is not a guarantee of service or a legal outcome. |
Before sharing sensitive details with any service, check its current intake process and terms for privacy and handling of devices or evidence.
3. Contact the source through a carefully assessed route
Do not assume a different app is safe if either endpoint—the journalist’s or the source’s device or account—may be compromised. If both endpoints are believed safe, use an end-to-end encrypted service and verify the contact’s identity with a pre-agreed phrase or another method suited to the situation. CPJ names Signal, WhatsApp, and Wire as examples in its confidential-source guidance; that is not a current independent comparison of the services.
Agree with the source how to minimize stored sensitive content. CPJ recommends enabling disappearing messages where available, but that setting does not erase recipient copies, screenshots, notification previews, cloud backups, or information an attacker has already collected. For some high-risk situations, CPJ advises considering a meeting without phones. An in-person meeting is not automatically safer: assess physical risk, local conditions, and applicable law first.
CPJ says SMS and carrier phone calls are not encrypted, and that telecom providers and internet service providers collect information that can identify or locate users. End-to-end encryption can protect message content in transit without concealing every trace of a conversation.
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4. Understand what encryption can—and cannot—protect
End-to-end encryption is useful because it is designed to keep a service provider from holding readable message content on its server. It cannot protect a message displayed on a compromised endpoint, and someone with access to an endpoint or linked account credentials may still intercept it. Spyware on either phone can expose calls and messages even when an app uses end-to-end encryption, as CPJ explains in its digital-safety guidance for journalists in exile.
Content is only part of the exposure risk. Phone numbers, timestamps, call duration, contact records, synced data, and cloud backups may reveal information about a relationship or preserve copies of material. CPJ’s Digital Safety Kit covers these limits, including the risk that cloud copies may not be encrypted. A secure channel is not a guarantee that a device, account, backup, or recipient’s copy is secure.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.5. Secure accounts and devices from a trusted device
Once you have a device assessed as safe to use, review account activity and active sessions. CPJ recommends long, unique passwords and two-factor authentication. If a password was reused or may have been exposed, change it from the trusted device and revoke access you do not recognize. Check account recovery methods and synced devices as well as the main password.
- Use an authenticator app rather than SMS for two-factor authentication where appropriate. For people at high risk of hacking, CPJ suggests a hardware security key; check that the key works with the relevant device and services, and keep a backup key.
- Update operating systems, apps, and browsers, and enable device encryption.
- Review cloud backups and synced contacts. Deleting a contact in one location may leave it synced elsewhere.
- Minimize source-identifying material stored on devices and accounts where doing so is safe and appropriate.
A remote wipe is not an automatic first response. It must have been configured beforehand, works only if the device can connect, and may have legal repercussions. Decide whether to use it as part of a case-specific plan, with specialist and, where appropriate, local legal advice. CPJ’s Digital Safety Kit discusses device and account security measures.
6. Check documents before sharing or publishing
Files can expose a source through metadata such as dates, times, location, authoring software, or device details. CPJ recommends removing metadata before sharing or publishing sensitive files. Redactions need scrutiny too: blurred or covered content may sometimes be recoverable, and screenshots, backgrounds, printed-document traces, or distinctive visual details can identify someone.
Review both the original and any derivative copy before publication. When the stakes are high, have another editor examine the redactions and surrounding visual details. CPJ’s confidential-source guidance discusses metadata and other ways documents can reveal a source.
7. Get local legal advice before consequential decisions
Source-protection rules and newsroom policies vary by jurisdiction and organization. CPJ cautions that some media organizations may require a journalist to share a source’s identity with editors, and local rules may require notebooks or equipment to be handed over. Do not assume that source-protection laws will prevent seizure or disclosure.
Before deleting material that may be relevant, responding to a demand, or making public claims about the incident, consult local counsel or a relevant press-freedom organization. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press guide, A Guide to Electronic Communications Surveillance, addresses U.S. government access to journalists’ communications; it does not establish the rules elsewhere. CPJ’s global introduction to confidential-source protection likewise emphasizes that law and employer policies differ.
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