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| Stable release | 4.15.4 [1] / 13 May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/globaleaks/GlobaLeaks |
| Written in | Python, JavaScript |
| Operating system | Linux |
| License | Affero General Public License |
| Website | https://www.globaleaks.org/ |
GlobaLeaks is an open-source, free software intended to enable secure and anonymous whistleblowing initiatives.
The project started on 15 December 2010 [2] and the first software prototype was announced on 6 September 2011. [3]
Relevant figures in the first development are Arturo Filastò, Claudio Agosti, Fabio Pietrosanti, Giovanni Pellerano, and Michele Orrù. [4]
GlobaLeaks utilizes Tor Onion Services to guarantee the anonymity of the source. [5]
Once the submission is performed the data is encrypted and made available only to configured recipients. [6] The platform does not store anything permanently and the submitted information and files are deleted as soon as possible with a strict data retention policy. [7] [8]
The process is generally improved by suggesting sources and recipients to use Qubes OS or Tails operating systems while connecting to the platform.
By 2023, GlobaLeaks has been internationalized in 90+ languages and implemented by several thousands projects and initiatives all over the world. The vast range of adopters include independent media, activists, media agencies, corporations, and more.
In 2013, Free Press Unlimited (FPU), [9] an in The Netherlands based non-profit organization, created Publeaks NL [10] [11] a foundation that counts around 20 of the country's biggest media organizations among its members that uses the platform to perform investigative journalism under a same umbrella project.
FPU has replicated this successful model in other countries creating MéxicoLeaks, [12] IndonesiaLeaks, [13] Leaks.ng [14] and Kenekanko [15] in Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Mali respectively. MexicoLeaks aimed at revealing information for the public interest in Mexico was awarded in 2016 the FRIDA award. [16] Another project, Africaleaks, was discontinued. [17]
AWP, a Belgium-based organization, created Ljost (Iceland), Filtrala (Spain), EcuadorTransparente (Ecuador) [18] [19] and PeruLeaks (Peru). [20]
One of the most successful GlobaLeaks projects is WildLeaks, the world's first whistleblower initiative dedicated to Wildlife and Forest Crime funded and managed by the Elephant Action League (EAL) which reported and investigated various crimes. One of the investigations was highlighted in the award-winning Netflix documentary The Ivory Game . [21] [22] [23]
GlobaLeaks also partnered with major anticorruption and human rights NGOs like Transparency International (Allerta Anticorruzione), [24] OCCRP (OCCRPLeaks Archived 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine ) and Amnesty International (Amlea). [25]
In 2017, Xnet, an activist project which has been working on and for networked democracy and digital rights since 2008, launched in the Barcelona City Hall the first public Anti-Corruption Complaint Box using anonymity protection technology like Tor and GlobaLeaks ("Bústia Ètica" in Catalan). With this pioneering project, the Barcelona City Hall is the first municipal government to invite citizens to use tools which enable them to send information in a way that is secure, that guarantees privacy and gives citizens the option to be totally anonymous. [26]
In 2018 the Italian Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), an administrative watchdog, launched their national online whistleblowing platform using GlobaLeaks and onion services, giving whistleblowers who come forward a secure way to report illegal activity while protecting their identities. [27]
Since 2020 the software is now recommended by Transparency International among the available secure, ethical and free solutions that could be used to implement whistleblowing systems for anticorruption purposes. [28]
The GlobaLeaks project maintains public and transparent documentation of the funds and partners that have supported its research and development. [29]
Whistleblowing is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whistleblowers can use a variety of internal or external channels to communicate information or allegations. Over 83% of whistleblowers report internally to a supervisor, human resources, compliance, or a neutral third party within the company, hoping that the company will address and correct the issues. A whistleblower can also bring allegations to light by communicating with external entities, such as the media, government, or law enforcement. Some countries legislate as to what constitutes a protected disclosure, and the permissible methods of presenting a disclosure. Whistleblowing can occur in the private sector or the public sector.
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising from corruption. Its most notable publications include the Global Corruption Barometer and the Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency International serves as an umbrella organization. From 1993 to today, its membership has grown from a few individuals to more than 100 national chapters, which engage in fighting perceived corruption in their home countries. TI is a member of G20 Think Tanks, UNESCO Consultative Status, United Nations Global Compact, Sustainable Development Solutions Network and shares the goals of peace, justice, strong institutions and partnerships of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG). TI is a social partner of Global Alliance in Management Education. TI confirmed the dis-accreditation of the national chapter of United States of America in 2017.
A dark net or darknet is an overlay network within the Internet that can only be accessed with specific software, configurations, or authorization, and often uses a unique customized communication protocol. Two typical darknet types are social networks, and anonymity proxy networks such as Tor via an anonymized series of connections.
Tor is a free overlay network for enabling anonymous communication. Built on free and open-source software and more than seven thousand volunteer-operated relays worldwide, users can have their Internet traffic routed via a random path through the network.
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian editor, publisher and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006 in order to commit "acts of journalism". He came to wide international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of leaks from US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning: footage of a US airstrike in Baghdad, US military logs from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and US diplomatic cables. Assange has won multiple awards for publishing and journalism.
Tails, or "The Amnesic Incognito Live System", is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving Internet privacy and anonymity. It connects to the Internet exclusively through the anonymity network Tor. The system is designed to be booted as a live DVD or live USB and never writes to the hard drive or SSD, leaving no digital footprint on the machine unless explicitly told to do so. It can also be run as a virtual machine, with some additional security risks.
Simona Levi is a theatre director, playwright, activist, technopolitical strategist, cultural manager and curator, and lecturer. Born in Italy and with Spanish nationality, she has been living in Barcelona, Spain, since 1990. She is an activist in the field of freedom of expression and information, digital rights, the free flow of culture and knowledge, strategic use of digital tools for collective action, institutional accountability, protection of whistleblowers and the fight against corruption and disinformation. She has also participated in movements in defence of the right to housing and use of public space.
Xnet is a non-profit activist platform that develops and promotes alternative models for cultural dissemination and royalty management and work in different fields related to digital rights, networked democracy and freedom of expression. Its activities revolve around five core themes: free culture, Internet neutrality, technopolitics, network democracy, new models of sustainability for the digital era and the defence of citizen journalism and the legal fight against corruption. Xnet also engages in political lobbying at the national and international levels, by preparing and submitting legislative proposals and viral campaigns. Until 2023, Xnet was a member of European Digital Rights (EDRi), a not-for-profit association to promote, protect and uphold civil rights in the field of information and communication technology.
Nawaat is an independent collective blog co-founded by Tunisians Sami Ben Gharbia, Sufian Guerfali and Riadh Guerfali in 2004, with Malek Khadraoui joining the organization in 2006. The goal of Nawaat's founders was to provide a public platform for Tunisian dissident voices and debates. Nawaat aggregates articles, visual media, and other data from a variety of sources to provide a forum for citizen journalists to express their opinions on current events. The site does not receive any donations from political parties. During the events leading to the Tunisian Revolution of 2011, Nawaat advised Internet users in Tunisia and other Arab nations about the dangers of being identified online and offered advice about circumventing censorship. Nawaat is an Arabic word meaning core. Nawaat has received numerous awards from international media organizations in the wake of the Arab Spring wave of revolutions throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Pedro Noel is a Brazilian journalist and graduated philosopher. According to Romanian media, he is also an Internet media activist, known as 'one of those who made 700 thousand Spaniards take the streets' in 2011.
The Associated Whistleblowing Press (AWP) is a not-for-profit information agency based in Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to the defense of human rights by promoting transparency, freedom of information and speech, whistleblowing and investigative journalism, conceived as a global network made up of cooperative local platforms and actors. According to its website, the initiative aims to work in a decentralized network structure, with local platforms that deal with local information, contexts and actors in a "from the roots upward model". The stories produced will then be published on the project's multilanguage newsroom under a Creative Commons license. The team consists of collaborators spread all around the world, led by two editors, Pedro Noel and Santiago Carrion.
Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 to fund and support free speech and freedom of the press. The organization originally managed crowd-funding campaigns for independent journalistic organizations, but now pursues technical projects to support journalists' digital security and conducts legal advocacy for journalists.
SecureDrop is a free software platform for secure communication between journalists and sources (whistleblowers). It was originally designed and developed by Aaron Swartz and Kevin Poulsen under the name DeadDrop. James Dolan also co-created the software.
In general, Belgium has a well-developed legal and institutional framework for fighting against corruption.
Corruption in Latvia is examined on this page.
Tor2web is a software project to allow Tor hidden services to be accessed from a standard browser without being connected to the Tor network. It was created by Aaron Swartz and Virgil Griffith.
The Elephant Action League (EAL) is an environmental non-governmental organization founded in 2013 in the United States by Andrea Crosta, Gilda Moratti, and Francesco Rocca. EAL is based in Los Angeles, California.
Truth & Transparency Foundation was a whistleblowing organization inspired by WikiLeaks, which focused on exposing documents from the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Founded in December 2016 and ceasing operations in April 2022, Truth & Transparency was a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to religious accountability through impact journalism.
Distributed Denial of Secrets, abbreviated DDoSecrets, is a non-profit whistleblower site founded in 2018 for news leaks. The site is a frequent source for other news outlets and has worked on investigations including Cyprus Confidential with other media organizations. In December 2023, the organization said it had published over 100 million files from 59 countries.
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