SecureDrop.org compromised partially mitigated

THREAT52 · Partially mitigated: Some controls are in place, but the risk is still too high. · Defined in catalog.py:927

Risk: High impact × Low likelihood = 6 medium
After mitigations: Medium impact × Low likelihood = 4 medium

How statuses and scores work

Source visits a compromised SecureDrop.org directory and visits/submits document to a malcious SecureDrop instance

Threat actors: Nation State / Law Enforcement Large Corporation

Mitigations

Mitigation	Status
securedrop.org directory explains sources should compare the onion URL in the directory with the one on the news org page MITIG105	implemented

Possible further mitigations

GPG sign SecureDrop directory MITIG186 proposed

Where it applies

Applies to 1 component in 1 scenario.

SecureDrop.org directory External Services

Source discovery and OPSEC · SecureDrop.org directory

digraph tm {
    graph [
        fontname = Arial;
        fontsize = 14;
    ]
    node [
        fontname = Arial;
        fontsize = 14;
    ]
    edge [
        fontname = Arial;
        fontsize = 12;
    ]
    nodesep = 1;

    subgraph cluster_boundary_External_Services {
        graph [
            fontsize = 10;
            fontcolor = black;
            style = dashed;
            color = firebrick2;
            label = <<i>External Services</i>>;
        ]

        component_Landing_page_External_Services [
            shape = circle;
            color = black;
            fontcolor = black;
            label = "Landing page";
            URL = "component_Landing_page.html";
            tooltip = "Landing page";
            margin = 0.02;
        ]

        component_SecureDrop_org_directory_External_Services [
            shape = circle;
            color = black;
            fontcolor = black;
            label = "SecureDrop.org\ndirectory";
            URL = "component_SecureDrop_org_directory.html";
            tooltip = "SecureDrop.org directory";
            margin = 0.02;

            style = "filled";

            fillcolor = "#c0392b";

            fontcolor = "white";

            class = "highlighted";
        ]

    }

    subgraph cluster_boundary_SecureDrop_Area {
        graph [
            fontsize = 10;
            fontcolor = black;
            style = dashed;
            color = firebrick2;
            label = <<i>SecureDrop Area</i>>;
        ]

        component_Dedicated_Hardware_Firewall_SecureDrop_Area [
            shape = circle;
            color = black;
            fontcolor = black;
            label = "Dedicated\nHardware\nFirewall";
            URL = "component_Dedicated_Hardware_Firewall.html";
            tooltip = "Dedicated Hardware Firewall";
            margin = 0.02;
        ]

    }

    subgraph cluster_boundary_Source_Area {
        graph [
            fontsize = 10;
            fontcolor = black;
            style = dashed;
            color = firebrick2;
            label = <<i>Source Area</i>>;
        ]

        actor_Source_Source_Area [
            shape = square;
            color = black;
            fontcolor = black;
            label = "Source";
            URL = "component_Source.html";
            tooltip = "Source";
            margin = 0.02;
        ]

        component_Source_Tor_Browser_Source_Area [
            shape = circle;
            color = black;
            fontcolor = black;
            label = "Source Tor\nBrowser";
            URL = "component_Source_Tor_Browser.html";
            tooltip = "Source Tor Browser";
            margin = 0.02;
        ]

        component_Source_environment_Source_Area [
            shape = circle;
            color = black;
            fontcolor = black;
            label = "Source\nenvironment";
            URL = "component_Source_environment.html";
            tooltip = "Source environment";
            margin = 0.02;
        ]

    }

    actor_Source_Source_Area -> component_Source_environment_Source_Area [        color = black;        fontcolor = black;        dir = forward;        label = "1. Research / browse";    ]
    component_Source_environment_Source_Area -> component_SecureDrop_org_directory_External_Services [        color = black;        fontcolor = black;        dir = forward;        label = "2. Check directory";    ]
    component_Source_environment_Source_Area -> component_Landing_page_External_Services [        color = black;        fontcolor = black;        dir = forward;        label = "3. Visit landing\npage";    ]
    actor_Source_Source_Area -> component_Source_Tor_Browser_Source_Area [        color = black;        fontcolor = black;        dir = forward;        label = "4. Open Tor Browser";    ]
    component_Source_Tor_Browser_Source_Area -> component_Dedicated_Hardware_Firewall_SecureDrop_Area [        color = black;        fontcolor = black;        dir = forward;        label = "5. Connect to onion";    ]
}

Notes

Existing mitigations: Users should be instructed to confirm any information they find on SecureDrop.org or new organization landing page (MITIG105) - but this notification could be disabled. (note: we no longer publish a GPG-signed version of the directory). Further mitigations: Periodically publish gpg-signed version of the SecureDrop directory (MITIG186). Automated test for mitigation: Yes.

How this threat is matched

Listed for these components. A boundary covers every component inside it.