2015
China’s CNNIC issues false certificates in serious breach of crypto trust
In a major breach of public trust and confidence, the Chinese digital certificate authority China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) certified false credentials for numerous domains, including several owned by Google. The deliberate breach had the potential to seriously endanger vulnerable users, such as journalists communicating with sources. The breach was discovered by Google and…
Media restrictions in Papua underscore Indonesia’s wider problems
With more than 50 years of restricted media access, one of the least covered armed conflicts in the world is the long-simmering struggle between Indonesia’s military and the secessionist Free Papua Movement. Under Indonesia’s seven successive post-independence governments–the early ones led by autocratic strongmen, the recent ones more or less democratically elected–the world has been…
Malaysian police arrest editors, executives of news portal
Bangkok, March 31, 2015–Police have detained three editors and two executives of The Malaysian Insider news portal in Malaysia’s Kelantan state and accused them of sedition, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate and unconditional release of those arrested.
In Kyrgyzstan, U.S. journalist deported, his sources harassed
New York, March 30, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the deportation from Kyrgyzstan on Saturday of American freelancer Umar Farooq, who was detained and interrogated by Kyrgyz security services last week, according to news reports.
Yahoo! End-to-End email preview promises greater protection for journalists
Good news for journalists wanting added protection from surveillance. Yahoo! has announced a technical preview of its email security tool End-to-End, which it has been developing in collaboration with Google. This is another milestone in the tech companies’ efforts to protect users not just from outsiders, but also from the companies themselves.
Susan Chira of New York Times and David Remnick of New Yorker join CPJ’s board of directors
New York, March 30, 2015–New York Times Deputy Executive Editor Susan Chira and David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker magazine, joined the Committee to Protect Journalists’ board of directors, the organization said today.
Second blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh
March 30, 2015, New York–Bangladeshi authorities should investigate the murder of a blogger in the capital, Dhaka, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Washiqur Rahman Babu is the second blogger to be hacked to death in public in Bangladesh in the past five weeks.
A year after Raza Rumi attack, little change for Pakistan’s beleaguered press
One year ago Raza Rumi, a TV anchor and widely-respected analyst in Pakistan, narrowly escaped death when gunmen opened fire on his car in an attack that killed his driver, Mustafa. When I wrote about the March 28 attack, the fourth on the Express Group in eight months that had left four people dead, I…
Media outlets raided and banned as conflict spirals in Yemen
New York, March 27, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned for the safety of Yemeni journalists amid escalating violence in the country. Houthi forces have raided news outlets, detained journalists, and banned websites, while satellite TV operators ceased to broadcast stations that recently came under Houthi control, according to news reports.