EFF Tutorial on Anonymous Email Accounts

In the fallout surrounding the American FBI investigation of CIA Director David Petraeus, you may have come across stories about how he attempted to hide his digital email trail. Utilizing a jointly held email account, messages between Petraeus and Paula Broadwell were left in draft mode, never to be sent and assumed not to leave a digital trail.

Well, leave it to the EFF to point out where things went so terribly wrong. Take a look at this tutorial released yesterday, on how to create an anonymous email account.

Some of the suggestions include:

• Using the Tor Browser Bundle;
• Signing up for webmail with a throwaway email address;
• Use a webmail account with https protection;
• Using Hushmail as the webmail provider;
• A strong password;
• Never mention anything that could give away your identity;
• Encrypt your email correspondence using OpenPGP; and
• Setup pseudonymous PGP/GPG in Hushmail.

The EFF, of course, has a vested interest in supporting anonymous speech online. The conclusion at the bottom of the tutorial was a good reminder why. And the tutorial, I thought was a fun presentation of the materials woven into a highly publicized story. Very well constructed (marketing?) if you want to have your message widely read.