About
Deadswitch was born from the realisation that any individual driven by an earnest will to publicly expose wrongdoing and corruption is now at greater risk than ever, but that certain implementations of crypto, like guns, can provide these individuals with a means of ‟preemptive protection”.
Deadswitch exists to ensure such protections are afforded and extend far beyond physical boundaries. By harnessing the power of open-source cryptography, we seek to overthrow this oppressive dynamic. Our service works to empower those individuals who risk their lives to inform the public, by providing a secure file-sharing utility, one impervious to conventional methods of censorship or intimidation.
Founder
Deadswitch was founded in early 2017 by Jacob Riggs, a security researcher from the UK with an interest in building digital tools centered on protecting the privacy and political freedoms of others.
Jacob's belief that at-risk journalists and whistleblowers could be protected through a means of deterrence-by-disclosure, led him to create Deadswitch, to afford vulnerable people a last resort means of guaranteeing that their message will always survive in any circumstances they might not.
"No custodian of the truth should have to fear their deliverance of the facts."
Jacob Riggs
"There is a salient and undeniable truth to cryptography which I’ve always found appealing – that no measure of violence or proscriptive legislation will ever solve a math problem. This shifts the balance of power from those with a monopoly on violence to those that employ encryption and understand security design."
Jacob Riggs, during an interview in May 2020
Our Mission
Our mission is to defend and uphold the fundamental rights of journalists, whistleblowers, and dissidents to freely and safely report the truth, and to expose corruption, abuse of power, and injustice without fear of reprisal. We are committed to promoting transparency and accountability in government, institutions, and society as a whole.
Press freedom is essential to the health and stability of democratic societies and the protection of those serving the public interest is crucial to the preservation of human rights. We strive to ensure that these vital voices can operate without fear of intimidation, harassment, or violence.
Want to get involved?
We fight for a world where technology will empower and enable us, but we cannot do it alone. We invite you to stand with us.
