From Wired How-To Wiki

WikiLeaks has changed the way whistleblowers, document-leak sites and media organizations operate. In its wake, other similar sites where users can anonymously submit documents are cropping up, many with a hyperlocal or topic-specific focus. The Wall Street Journal announced Safehouse last week. Al-Jazeera has the Transparency Unit. Russia has Ruleaks. Tufts University even has JumboLeaks.

Leak sites, it seems, are here to stay. Here’s how to get one started.

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Components

Leak sites traditionally exist to fill an information gap that exists between the public and those not fulfilling an obligation to provide the public with information. In order for a leak site to function, it should have the following components:

Audience

Identify a target audience of people who desire information about a specific topic. Knowing that audience is key in moving forward with all other aspects of the site, including what to release, how to release it, and what to name the site.

Submissions

Leak sites depend on their sources. Leak sources often wish to remain anonymous — even to the leaking site.

The more accessible the leaking function on the site is, the more people will be inclined to submit. Have a submissions page pointing users to a dedicated e-mail address or even a P.O. box, as well as an upload form that can be used by an anonymous user as well.

Leaks

The most important part of a leak site is the content it releases. It’s important to make sure any documents or information obtained are not libelous. Otherwise, parties involved may bring a defamation case against you.

If there is no way to make certain that information leaked to the site is valid, make sure to be aware of libel laws and, if possible, consult a lawyer about the possibility of a libel case, and make sure there is a solid defense.

Legality

There are very few precedents involving leak sites, as the sites are relatively new. However, the case concerning the Pentagon Papers, published by The New York Times in 1971, "stops the government from preventing publication, it does allow the government to hold those who publish information accountable after publication, if laws were broken." It is undecided where leak sites stand in the journalistic realm, but someone should be exercising some editorial judgment. If in doubt, and if you can afford it, it's probably best to consult a lawyer before publishing anything questionable.

The Site

Name and Domain

The name of a leaking site should be a simple word or phrase that tells people what the site is about. The next step is to buy a domain and get hosting. You can purchase a domain using any domain registrar, e.g., GoDaddy. But note that unless you opt to make your personal information private, anyone could access your name, address and phone number with a simple WHOIS search. This comes at an extra cost, but it is the best way to protect your personal information.

Hosting

Every website must be hosted, meaning all of its files must be stored on a server that can be accessed over the internet. There are many hosting services with varying philosophies and pricing plans. When starting a leaking site, be sure to read host’s terms-of-service agreement. If a site releases confidential documents or anything that could be deemed illegal, some hosts reserve the right to take down your content. WikiLeaks ran into this problem when Amazon’s web-hosting service took down the site because of pressure from the United States government.

Another hosting option is to do it yourself. This requires more technical knowledge than paying for hosting, but obviously eliminates the possibility of a host taking down the site. In a situation like this, the server needs to be maintained, and the server’s internet service provider becomes the bottleneck. If an ISP limits bandwidth, the site may become slow or go down altogether.

Site Creation

In designing a website, it is helpful to at least have knowledge of HTML, but if you don’t know how to code a site by hand (this can be done in a basic text editor), there are several free, open source design programs available.

Security

As we've seen from The Wall Street Journal's method of implementation, if you want to be collecting controversial material, you'll need to implement security in order to protect the identities of contributors as well as your own site's viability ... and if you're not a security expert, you'll probably need to enlist one.

While it is possible to create an anonymization platform, it is much simpler (and probably more secure) to point users to an already-existing platform. Recommended: Tor, an anonymization platform that connects a network of users, obscuring individual computers within the larger group.