Foldering

Foldering is the practice of communicating via messages saved to the "drafts" folder of an email or other electronic messaging account that is accessible by multiple people.^[1][2][3][4] The messages are never actually sent.^[1][2][3][4]

Foldering has been described as a digital equivalent of a dead drop.^[2]

History

Foldering was reportedly used by al-Qaeda at least as early as 2005^[2] and it has also been used by drug cartels.^[1]

Notable cases

In 2012, David Petraeus was reported to have used foldering to communicate with Paula Broadwell.^[2][5]

In June 2018, Greg Andres cited Paul Manafort's use of foldering as evidence that Manafort engaged in deceptive behaviours.^[4]

See also

• Dead drop
• Tradecraft