A Public Service: Whistleblowing, Disclosure and Anonymity

Governments and corporations now have the tools to track and control us as never before. In this whistleblowing how-to, we are provided with tools and techniques to fight back and hold organizations, agencies, and corporations accountable for unethical behavior.

Can one person successfully defy a globe-spanning corporation or superpower without being discovered? Can a regular citizen, without computer expertise, release information to the media and be sure her identity will be concealed?

At a time we’re told we are powerless and without agency in the face of institutions such as Google, Facebook, the NSA, or the FBI, digital security educator Tim Schwartz steps forward with an emphatic “yes.” And in fewer than 250 pages of easy-to-understand, tautly written prose, he shows us how. A PUBLIC SERVICE can teach any one of us the tricks to securely and anonymously communicate and share information with the media, lawyers, or even the U.S. Congress. This book is an essential weapon in the pervasive battle to confront corruption, sexual harassment, and other ethical and legal violations.

Tim Schwartz’s career focuses on data privacy and digital information as an artist, activist, and technologist. He specializes in teaching techniques for challenging power while protecting one’s identity. Schwartz co-organizes the digital training organization Los Angeles Cryptoparty, a member of the Electronic Frontier Alliance. He currently works as a digital strategist at Alley, a digital agency that builds websites and digital systems for the media, nonprofits, and others. After developing technology to reunite missing people affected by the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, he began organizing the Missing Persons Community of Interest, which develops technology for reunifying families after disasters. He lives in Los Angeles.