An enormous number of convictions are based on self-incrimination — behaviour that essentially amounts to snitching on yourself.
If you are arrested, don't talk to the police. Any communication beyond the legal requirements (often name, date and place of birth) should be considered self-incrimination, and depending on your context you may be released without divulging even this information.
Don't brag about crimes to friends, comrades, or cellmates — even if you have a solid foundation of trust, the knowledge unnecessarily endangers the person you're telling and could be overheard by an adversary.
Digital communications and devices are hostile terrain. Don't let anything incriminating go through your phone as a text message, photo, etc. — regardless of encryption. Social media is a treasure trove for State adversaries: don't use social media, or at least don't post anything incriminating on social media. Taking videos or photos during riots incriminates people and should be considered a form of snitching[1]: don't take videos or photos during riots.
Depending on your context, refusing to provide identification and biometric information (face photograph, fingerprints, DNA) upon arrest by a State adversary may be a viable strategy.
See the related mitigation Need to know principle.
Techniques addressed by this mitigation
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Door knocks | When an adversary comes knocking, just don't talk to them — instead, alert your networks and consider making it public. | |
| ID checks | If possible, do not answer questions or provide biometric information (face photograph, fingerprints, DNA) during ID checks. | |
| Interrogation techniques | You should not talk to an adversary under any circumstances: this is the best way to resist their interrogation techniques. | |
| Network mapping | Self-incrimination not only endangers the individual, but also the rest of their network. If possible, refusing to provide an adversary with your identity, photographs, fingerprints, or DNA samples can limit their ability to perform network mapping. | |
| Open-source intelligence | An adversary's ability to use open-source intelligence in investigations against you or your networks is limited if you don't use social media and generally avoid making any information about yourself or your networks public. | |
| Forensics | ||
| Digital | You should not store self-incriminating information on digital devices except for very deliberate reasons, such as writing and sending an action claim, and always through Tails. | |
| Mass surveillance | ||
| Mass digital surveillance | You should not store self-incriminating information on digital devices except for very deliberate reasons, such as writing and sending an action claim, and always through Tails. | |