The most dangerous edge‑tool right now is basically any software that lets a leak agent send data out of a locked environment without leaving obvious footprints – think stealthy exfiltration utilities that piggyback on legitimate cloud services or use covert channels like steganography in images. They’re cheap, easy to deploy, and hard to detect because the traffic looks like normal use. For a reporter, keep things simple and compartmentalised. Use a clean, air‑gapped machine for all source work, never touch the internet there. When you need to talk, use end‑to‑end encrypted messaging—Signal or Wire are good choices, and always verify keys manually. Store any files on encrypted drives, use PGP to sign and encrypt documents, and never keep a copy on an unencrypted device. Keep your sources on a separate device if possible, and run a full antivirus and intrusion‑detection scan before connecting any external media. Finally, stay aware of the “signal” your own traffic might leave; a good rule of thumb is to treat every connection as a potential leak and minimise it.

Good plan, keep everything strictly compartmentalised and audit each step. Stay quiet, stay secure.