SecureDrop Workstation Project Status

SecureDrop Workstation is currently in active development.

Freedom of the Press Foundation had operated a pilot program with a limited number of organizations whose environments were especially well-suited for early testing of the Workstation. This pilot program has now ended.

With the 1.0.0 release, we’re now switching to an open beta. If you are interested in using SecureDrop Workstation, please reach out to us via the support portal.

Is SecureDrop Workstation right for you?

Until SecureDrop Workstation reaches general availability, we would recommend against using it in production environments (outside of users who have already installed it as part of the pilot program).

That said, the project is entirely open source, and you can install it independently if you want to get a feel for how it all works.

If you’re a journalist or news organization trying to decide if this is right for you, please note that SecureDrop Workstation should only be used by organizations that meet the following criteria:

  • You have an existing SecureDrop Server in place

  • You have fewer than 500 Sources on the Server

  • You typically only interact with .pdf, .doc, and .jpg files via your SecureDrop (as opposed to large datasets or complex file formats, which are not yet supported)

  • You have a functional Secure Viewing Station to fall back on

  • Your journalists and support staff are comfortable trying a new operating system (Qubes OS), and are aware that they may need to troubleshoot with us or with your internal tech team if issues arise

  • Your journalists don’t rely on the features that are not yet implemented

If you do not meet the criteria above, you are likely to run into difficulties or frustrating experiences using the Workstation, and should consider waiting until it is more mature.

Warning

In its current state, if you have more than 500 Sources on your server you will experience significant performance issues using SecureDrop Workstation that may hinder your ability to use it at any functional level.

SecureDrop Workstation Feature Comparison

SecureDrop Workstation provides a faster and more streamlined way of interacting with sources and submissions, while preserving important security properties. That said, it is still under development, and not all features available on the Tails-based (existing) system are available in SecuredDrop Workstation. We are working towards feature parity, but in the meantime, there are some notable differences; see the Limitations and known issues page for more information.

Do you still need a Tails-based Secure Viewing Station?

For now, yes. There are still circumstances where the SecureDrop Workstation may not be able to retreive or show submissions. The main instances are either in situations where there are a substantial number of sources or submissions stored on the SecureDrop server, or in instances were you are trying to open a file type that the Workstation is not yet equipped to handle.

Once SecureDrop Workstation is more mature, you will be able to use it to view most submissions, but for now, having the Secure Viewing Station available as a backup is imperative.

Roadmap and Timeline

You can find information about our current development roadmap and timeline at the SecureDrop Development Wiki.

We encourage former pilot participants and open beta participants to file support tickets with us, to help us understand and prioritize your needs as we continue development.