Tor Tutorials

SecureDrop — Anonymous Whistleblowing Platform

SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblowing platform that allows anonymous sources to submit documents and communicate with journalists securely. Used by 70+ news organizations including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, and Bloomberg, it runs entirely on the Tor network.

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How SecureDrop Works

  • Sources access the organization's SecureDrop .onion address through Tor Browser
  • They receive a unique codename — no account, no email, no identity required
  • Sources can submit documents and messages using only their codename
  • Journalists review submissions on an air-gapped computer (no internet connection)
  • Responses are posted back through SecureDrop — sources check using their codename

The entire system is designed so that even if the server is seized, sources cannot be identified.

Organizations Using SecureDrop

  • The New York Times
  • The Washington Post
  • The Guardian
  • Bloomberg News
  • CBC / Radio-Canada
  • ProPublica
  • The Intercept
  • Al Jazeera
  • And 60+ more organizations worldwide

Infrastructure Requirements

SecureDrop requires:

  • Two physical servers (Application + Monitor) — cannot be VMs for security reasons
  • An air-gapped viewing station (Tails on USB)
  • Dedicated network hardware
  • A .onion address for source access

The Tor hosting component is critical — the .onion service must be reliable, secure, and always available.

Tor Hosting for Whistleblowing Platforms

While SecureDrop requires physical servers, other whistleblowing and anonymous submission platforms can run on VPS hosting. AnubizHost provides Tor hosting infrastructure suitable for anonymous submission platforms, with offshore jurisdiction, DDoS protection, and managed Tor configuration.

Why Anubiz Labs

100% async — no calls, no meetings
Delivered in days, not weeks
Full documentation included
Production-grade from day one
Security-first approach
Post-delivery support included

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