Proton Blog: “Journalists have always operated in the crosshairs. They investigate the powerful, protect confidential sources, and publish uncomfortable truths. Today the threats they face are evolving, with political pressure and surveillance coming not only from authoritarian regimes but also from backsliding liberal democracies. Bad actors can use hacks and data breaches to disrupt their operations, retaliate against whistleblowers, and ultimately compromise their editorial independence. To better understand the risks facing media today, Proton analyzed dark web marketplaces where hackers trade in pilfered databases to understand media companies’ exposure to digital vulnerabilities. We chose three of the biggest names in US media — The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal — and scanned for leaks associated with those organizations and their employees. Our research turned up more than 116,000 dark web exposures tied to email addresses associated with The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. The volume of exposed data that we discovered — often leaking from multiple sources — places these companies at serious risk of targeted cyberattacks, blackmail, or social engineering. The leaks include over 12,000 plaintext passwords and over 61,000 pieces of personally identifiable information, revealing the vast scale of cybersecurity risks faced by reporters and their sources. The media aren’t the only ones at risk. A previous investigation from Proton found thousands of politicians’ leaked emails and passwords on the dark web, representing not only personal privacy vulnerabilities but potential national security threats. It’s important to note that these leaks are not proof that The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Wall Street Journal have suffered any kind of cyberattack. The leaks are typically from third-party sources, such as retailers or software providers, who have suffered data breaches that exposed their customers’ data. But the existence of these leaks opens up media companies to targeted hacks, breaches, blackmail, and social engineering…”