Since the rise of WikiLeaks, there have been many sites that rose up to be the next document leaking platform. They have all seen various degrees of success, but a new service might just be worth it.
GlobaLeaks is an open source whistleblower platform with a very specific goal in mind – to provide an open source framework that can be utilized by those who want to expose what they see as wrong. This means that they’re aren’t going to be the one who leaks the documents, but rather provide the tools for the potential whistleblowers or organizations to leak the documents.
How is this all going to work? Any media, corporation or public agency can use the tools provided by GlobaLeaks to set up a whisteblowing application on their Web site or any other platform. It’s especially useful for the media who, with this service, can now collect whistleblowing reports while keeping the source anonymous. Think of it as the tip box you see at media Web sites but with an added extra layer of security. It also has the bonus of organizing all the documents into one easy to access place.
The software angle that GlobaLeaks goes after is what sets them apart from everybody else in the field. Other services manage or collect leaks to distribute across the media. Anybody can use the GlobaLeaks software to set up their own site. If it takes off, it could help create an entirely new culture of leaks and whistleblowing activity on the Internet. It also removes the creators from any responsibility since they just provide the software. It’s up to the user to use it how they will.
For those who may be somewhat distrusting of the service, worry not. When you upload materials using GlobaLeaks, it creates a unique URL that is only for you. Your leaks are not part of any service or platform, it’s wholly unique to you. This makes every leak completely anonymous and separate from each other. In a way, it’s a more sophisticated version of AnonPaste.
As this is an open source project, they welcome any and all developers to make contributions to the project. You can access all of source code on Github. Become acquainted with the software to see if it would help you in any way. Being able to create your own leaks platform is a pretty enticing prospect, but it does come with a lot of responsibility. Potential creators would be wise to keep that in mind.
[h/t: Reddit]