You could get paranoid and use steganography (ie, the encryption of data in media like images) to communicate... A few innocent cartoons won't draw attention :)
Glenn Gillis wrote: > I am an e-mail administrator for a non-profit organization that > communicates extensively via e-mail with public interest environmental > lawyers and human rights activists, a high percentage of whom live and > work in either developing countries or countries with poor human > rights track records. The organization ostensibly values highly the > confidentiality of it's communications and the safety of its partners > yet it's e-mail communications have traditionally been carried out > entirely in clear text. > > I am relatively new to the organization and have been pushing for the > adoption of PGP encryption and the addition of a confidentiality > disclaimer on outgoing messages. I was surprised at the level > opposition to both of these suggestions on the basis that they would > bring unwanted scrutiny from our partners' domestic security agencies > that may be monitoring their citizens' e-mail traffic for "disruptive" > activity. Some have suggested that, barred from the opportunity to > freely read the e-mail, the authorities might resort to less passive > methods to find out what our partners are up to. Even a > confidentiality disclaimer on a plain text message, it has been > argued, could spark an unwanted level of attention. > > Is anyone aware of real research, or anything other than anecdotal > evidence, to support the idea that adopting encryption and legal > disclaimers might have negative personal safety impacts in some > countries? I would appreciate any links you might have to papers or > just a solid argument in support or against based on your experience. > > My general feeling is that the internal security apparatus in these > countries already know who the political troublemakers are and if > they're interested would already be (and probably are) intercepting > their e-mail. This makes me think avoiding the use of available > privacy tools to duck attention is rather like an ostrich sticking its > head in sand. > > Glenn >
