SALT

Stand Against Lethal Tactics

ORGANIZING UNDER SURVEILLANCE

A practical safety stack for activists — without killing momentum

Based on reporting from WIRED

Modern organizing balances two competing truths: power comes from mass participation and visibility, and risk comes from surveillance — government, platform data, subpoenas, leaks. The goal isn’t “go dark.” It’s be intentional: decide what must stay private, then use tools and habits that reduce what can be collected, subpoenaed, leaked, or exploited.

1. Threat Model First

Separate information into buckets — what can be public vs. what must remain private — and avoid trying to secure everything (friction increases mistakes).

Public
Intended for outreach and eventual publicity. Press releases, public events, social media campaigns.
Internal
Useful for coordination but not catastrophic if exposed. Meeting notes, logistics, volunteer lists.
Sensitive
Could endanger people, expose locations/suppliers, invite harassment, or create legal/financial risk.
Security isn’t secrecy; it’s prioritization.

2. Lock Down Communications

Default for encrypted comms: Signal, plus behaviors that matter as much as the app:

  • Turn on disappearing messages (even 1 week reduces retained history)
  • Consider usernames / minimal identity exposure when onboarding
  • Keep truly sensitive info in small groups or 1:1 (large groups become non-private)
  • Protect endpoints: screen lock, strong passcodes, and in higher-risk cases a dedicated “organizing” phone
Encryption helps, but group size and devices can defeat it.

3. Collaboration Tools

Your collaboration stack (docs, chat, calendars, file storage) is often the most subpoena-able, searchable, and persistently logged system you use.

A) The Mainstream Stack

Google Workspace · Microsoft 365 · Slack
Use when: work is mostly public or internal and the main goal is speed + adoption.
Avoid for: anything you’d regret seeing screenshotted, subpoenaed, or scraped.

B) Privacy-Forward Suites

Proton (Mail + Drive + Docs + Calendar)
Privacy-first ecosystem. No ad-driven data mining.
Tradeoff: Email interoperability is still “email” — messages can leave Proton and land somewhere less secure.
CryptPad (E2E Encrypted Office Suite)
Collaborative docs with end-to-end encryption. Open-source.
Tradeoff: Less familiar UI than Google Docs. Performance may feel lighter.
Nextcloud (Self-Hosted Private Cloud)
Open-source. You choose where your data lives and who administers it.
Tradeoff: Self-hosting is real work. If you can’t maintain it, security can get worse, not better.

C) Slack-Like But More Controllable

Matrix (Decentralized, Open Protocol)
No single centralized owner controls your communications graph.
Tradeoff: Setup choices can overwhelm non-technical groups.
Mattermost (Self-Hostable Team Chat)
Your data, your server, your retention policies.
Tradeoff: Self-hosting requires competence, patching, backups, and policy.

Choose Your Stack

  1. Public outreach: use familiar tools (Google/Microsoft/Slack) and move fast.
  2. Internal but not sensitive: mainstream tools with retention limits and strong account security.
  3. Sensitive: privacy-forward tools (Signal + Proton/CryptPad + limited-access groups). Minimize what you write down.
  4. Can’t maintain self-hosting: don’t self-host. Use simpler privacy-forward hosted tools and focus on habits.
If you can’t run an IT department, don’t cosplay as one.

4. Meet IRL… Carefully

In-person meetings are valuable, but IRL isn’t magically private. Cameras, license plate readers, location trails, and face recognition change the threat surface.

  • Leave phones behind or power them off for sensitive conversations
  • Vary meeting locations — patterns create exposure
  • Be aware of CCTV, ALPRs (license plate readers), and retail surveillance
  • Consider transit instead of personal vehicles for sensitive meetings
Physical organizing still needs threat modeling.

Risk is real, but it shouldn’t paralyze action. Assess → choose tools + habits → act.

Don’t let perfect security become self-sabotage.
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