this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2025
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182
How would you implement a dead man's switch? (reddthat.com)
submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
97 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

After reading about the "suicide" of yet another whistleblower, it got me thinking.

When working at large enough company, it's entirely possible that at some point you will get across some information the company does not want to be made public, but your ethics mandate you blow the whistle. So, I was wondering if I were in that position how I would approach creating a dead man's switch in order to protect myself.

From wikipedia:

A dead man's switch is a switch that is designed to be activated or deactivated if the human operator becomes incapacitated, such as through death, loss of consciousness, or being bodily removed from control. Originally applied to switches on a vehicle or machine, it has since come to be used to describe other intangible uses, as in computer software.

In this context, a dead man's switch would trigger the release of information. Some additional requirements could include:

  1. No single point of failure. (aka a usb can be stolen, your family can be killed, etc)
  2. Make the existence of the switch public. (aka make sure people know of your mutually assured destruction)
  3. Secrets should be safe until you die, disappear, or otherwise choose to make them public.

Anyway, how would you go about it?

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[โ€“] [email protected] 104 points 4 days ago (4 children)

The real answer: hire a law firm, entrust them with your documents, write into your will what you want to happen with them, and then go on about your business.

[โ€“] [email protected] 26 points 4 days ago

Maybe, add a clause what should happen if you disappear for more than x days. For most jurisdictions you are considered dead if you disappear for a few years.

[โ€“] [email protected] 16 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The question assumes that you family could be killed. Why the law firm is protected against such violence in that case?

[โ€“] [email protected] 15 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

A dead man's switch doesn't quite protect you from garden hose cryptanalysis though. Nothing stops them from asking you to tell them if he got a dead man's switch.

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

This is only partially true in the situation the poster named. What if your secrets are from the government or governmental organization? What if you live under a repressive regime where the law firms are either corrupt or that the law is not in your favor?

That being said, I have a will and a bank safe deposit box. It is filed with the state that I have a will and the will is (also) in the safe deposit box along with stuff that I'd prefer not be released until my death. There's also a clause in the will that says something to the effect that if somebody sues to invalidate the will, they are automatically excluded from any benefit (or responsibilities). Also, if an individual is found to be somehow responsible or had an intentional involvement in my death, then they are also excluded.

It's not air tight, but works for my needs. By the way, I don't have any company or government secrets, it's just normal family drama, so please don't kill me.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Only correct answer here.