345 sats \ 6 replies \ @Scoresby 23 May \ on: Privacy Judo security
I, too, feel like doing things "right" in the world of online privacy is almost impossible. Yet, I fear the surveillance state has increased to such an extent that doing things like a mafia don does them isn't as effective as it once was.
Cameras are everywhere and unless we are well prepared to abandon most of the conveniences of daily life (read: leave our phones at home and stop using a credit card, avoid crossing international borders) I have a feeling analog solutions (paper, in person conversation, heavy safes, and so forth) will not be as effective as they once were. Achieving the privacy of a mafia meeting in a pizza parlor a la Don Corleone in our modern highly surveiled world may be just as difficult as achieving privacy online. (It seems like every intersection in the US has a camera mounted above the traffic lights, and our license plates are pretty much our name, date of birth, and social security number displayed publicly.)
Judo (not that I have ever practiced it--so maybe I mean the american pop culture understanding if judo which may be as close to real judo as grocery-store sushi is to real sushi) is a great way to think about things. But, in the spirit of Indiana Jones, perhaps we should be looking for a gun to use in a knife fight.
Encryption feels like the gun in a knife fight. Perhaps it is my naivete speaking, but I am hopeful that we will come up with tech solutions that level the playing field between the state and ourselves.
Thanks for this perspective. No doubt a walk and talk through lower Manhattan would be picked up on a few cameras.
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Speaking about a different topic (bitcoin as a tech solution to the mess of the fiat monetary system) someone on Twitter said this: Either transcendence through technology or total collapse.
I am not a messianic tech utopianist, but late at night when my fears seem more real I do wonder if we haven't built a civilization that will not allow us to opt-out of the panopticon. The world where cash transactions are no longer accepted is close, likewise kyc to use the internet. The trend clearly points toward increasing control. The only way we escape may be through a technical solution that allows us to enforce our rights.
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Achieving the privacy of a mafia meeting in a pizza parlor a la Don Corleone in our modern highly surveiled world may be just as difficult as achieving privacy online. (It seems like every intersection in the US has a camera mounted above the traffic lights, and our license plates are pretty much our name, date of birth, and social security number displayed publicly.)
I don't know what you mean. Achieving privacy online is very easy.
Privacy is not about hiding your social security number or last name.
I often hear this kind of argumens handwaving away any efforts at basic privacy higiene because "they already know who I am". Such narcissist view that they're "after you" as depicted in movies does not reflect the current reality of mass surveillance.
You can take simple measures to vastly reduce the data points that you send about you and those around you: web searches, current mood, health, movies watched, books read, location, nearby devices around you, and a big, big etcetera. And no, you won't stand out as a terrorist bacause privacy is a human right and there's nothing wrong with choosing not to give it up.
Perhaps it is my naivete speaking, but I am hopeful that we will come up with tech solutions that level the playing field between the state and ourselves.
Alternatively we should use less tech in general or at least quit putting microphones and cameras on our tea kettles and toasters.
There's something calming about reducing the amount of tech in your day-to-day life and if more people tried it then perhaps we could change the culture to be less accepting of invasive surveillance devices.
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Tech is not bad per se. It's the spyware tech that got naturalized. Fully FOSS privacy-friendly tech is available. There's nothing wrong with having a mic listening to your commands if the software obeys you and don't leak data.
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