Leaks and the media in 2025

It’s the digital security training team at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), with security news that keeps you, your sources, and your devices safe. Did a friend share this newsletter with you? You can subscribe on LinkedIn here or through our website here.

As we approach the end of the year, our digital security training team has supported more journalists than ever before, and we expect 2025 to be even busier. We’d truly appreciate your support in continuing our work: https://freedom.press/donate/

Weaponizing the legal system against the press

Ahead of taking office for a second time, Donald Trump has already begun taking advantage of the legal system to bludgeon media organizations. ABC News recently settled a defamation lawsuit brought by the president-elect. Shortly thereafter, the president-elect sued the Des Moines Register, and said he would file additional suits against organizations that he has accused of bias. 

Based on conversations with Trump’s attorneys, as well as incoming White House officials and Republicans who have spoken to the president-elect about stemming embarrassing leaks, Rolling Stone warns, “Expect more communications seizures, more whistleblower prosecutions, and more personal lawsuits or legal threats from Trump against news outlets.” 

What you can do

• This is a good time to take stock of sensitive conversations, as well as data about sensitive sources or reporting materials stored in your online accounts. If you wouldn’t want it read into a court record, it’s worth conducting a risk assessment to think through the likelihood that you should take action to protect yourself or those around you. Read our guide to digital security risk assessment.
• While it’s too soon to say what happens next in 2025, and each journalist’s and organization’s risk assessment will be different, we do believe it’s important to start with basic considerations for source safety. Check out our collection of resources on source protection to learn more. 

Updates from our team

• Reminder: Our team put together a checklist of things journalists can do to radically improve digital security now and into 2025. Some are easy, low-hanging fruit, and some take a little more effort. We broke out the checklist into small, expandable sections to help you work through at your own pace. Read our checklist and get started working on your game plan.
• Our newest advice column unpacks a question we get fairly often in our digital security trainings: Why not just use the password manager that’s built into your browser? Check it out.
• We’ll be taking a holiday break, so the digital security digest will pause and return in early January. See you next year, recharged and ready.

Our team is always ready to assist journalists with digital security concerns. Reach out here, and stay safe and secure out there.

Best, Martin

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Martin Shelton

Deputy Director of Digital Security

Freedom of the Press Foundation