USA TODAY

The USA TODAY Network has launched a secure website for sources who want to share information with reporters covering government institutions from city halls to the White House.

The tool, called SecureDrop, is available at https://newstips.usatoday.com.

SecureDrop is a system of communication made available by the Freedom of the Press Foundation to protect journalists and their sources. It uses an encrypted and anonymous computer network known as Tor and routes internet connections through a series of different computers around the globe, making it largely untraceable. The network requires use of a special web browser, which is available here.

The system was developed amid a series of leak investigations under President Obama’s administration in which federal agents secretly accessed reporters’ phone records to identify their sources. President Trump has given no indication that he intends to alter that course; in a combative news conference Thursday, he said he had personally asked the Justice Department to investigate leaks that have ranged from details of his phone calls with foreign leaders to information about an intelligence investigation involving some of his campaign aides.

“Those are criminal leaks,” Trump said.

Trump’s election has created “a sense of urgency” among news organizations to find better ways to protect their sources, said Trevor Timm, director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which helped develop the whistle-blower system.

“Since the election, things have just exploded as far as demand for SecureDrop goes. Almost every single news organization you can mention has reached out to us in the past few months,” Timm said. The foundation’s online directory lists 29 news organizations that are using the system, including The New York Times, BuzzFeed, and the Associated Press.

No system is foolproof. And its security depends in part on people taking basic precautions to protect their identities online. For example, people put themselves at greater risk if they try to use the system at work, where computer networks can be tracked closely. The Foundation recommends people use public internet connections, and a special computer operating system called TAILS that is designed to make it difficult to track the activity or history of a particular computer.

Timm said he did not know of an instance in which the government had succeeded in identifying people who leaked information via SecureDrop.

“Investigative reporting is core to our mission,” USA TODAY Network’s Chief Content Officer, Joanne Lipman, said in a statement. “This tool will improve our ability to connect sources and journalists to better hold public officials and civic institutions accountable.”

The USA TODAY Network includes USA TODAY and 109 local news organizations, including The Arizona Republic and the Detroit Free Press.