Security-Culture

Editor’s note: Online privacy is an essential layer of self-defense and security in our modern internet-driven world. This issue can be confusing and overwhelming. This article is aimed at beginners, and will provide a starting point for you to consider these issues and improve your security. Why should I care about online privacy? “I have nothing to hide. Why should I care about my privacy?” Much like the right to interracial marriage, woman’s suffrage, and freedom of speech, we didn’t always have the right to privacy. Generations before ours fought for our right to privacy. Privacy is a human right inherent to all of us, that we are entitled to without discrimination. ...

By Dave Maass and Matthew Guariglia / November 19, 2020 / Electronic Frontier Foundation A few years ago, when you saw a security camera, you may have thought that the video feed went to a VCR somewhere in a back office that could only be accessed when a crime occurs. Or maybe you imagined a sleepy guard who only paid half-attention, and only when they discovered a crime in progress. In the age of internet-connectivity, now it’s easy to imagine footage sitting on a server somewhere, with any image inaccessible except to someone willing to fast forward through hundreds of hours of footage. ...

This article introduces a basic guide of generally accepted “security codes” for movements which can be applied in a variety of direct action, protest, and event situations. More articles related to security can be accessed here. These include topics like physical security for events, operational security, geolocation and tracking and many more. By Max Wilbert Activists and revolutionaries will often find themselves in situations that are dangerous for a variety of reasons. Whether we are engaged in protest, events, or direct actions, we need to protect our community, our mission, and ourselves. That is why we endeavor to teach security training to everyone in our community. ...

Vigilante, paramilitary, and state violence against resistance movements is on the rise. Around the world, regressive forces are violently resisting social movements for justice and sustainability, or using intimidation to create fear. Our movements must prepare for this. This post includes a training on how to protect protests, events, and locations from violent attacks and disruption. The training is delivered by Ahjamu Umi of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party. It was originally hosted by the Rural Organizing Project and published on 10th June 2020. ...

This story is dated from 2014, but still provides a critical insight into the operations of federal intelligence agencies to discredit and disrupt social movements. We recommend activists and revolutionaries carefully study this information. By Glenn Greenwald / The Intercept One of the many pressing stories that remains to be told from the Snowden archive is how western intelligence agencies are attempting to manipulate and control online discourse with extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction. It’s time to tell a chunk of that story, complete with the relevant documents. ...

Editor’s note: Signal provides good protection against dragnet surveillance, but the capabilities of state agencies and large corporations probably allow them to bypass the security provided by apps like this in targeted cases. In other words, Signal is not bulletproof. If your device is compromised, your message are compromised. We recommend Signal and other end-to-end encrypted communication methods as a baseline for safer communication, but in cases of serious risk, other measures must be taken. ...

Anytime you browse the internet, your ISP (Internet Service Provider), government agencies such as the NSA and GCHQ, and most of the websites you visit are tracking everything you do. This data is often used to generate profiles of individuals preferences, purchasing behavior, travel, habits, etc, then packaged and sold to marketing companies, political advertisers, and other bidders. Politically, internet surveillance is used to suppress resistance movements, identify dissidents, and encourage self-censorship. ...

by Liam Campbell What Is GDPR? GDPR is a European legal framework intended to protect personal data, provide greater data transparency, and give people greater control over their data. It requires any group that stores or processes data to follow strict policies to ensure security. It also entitles individuals to request personal data reports and deletion, both of which must be completed within 30 days by any group holding the data. ...

Editor’s note: DGR acknowledges that Extinction Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion Ireland are valuable and necessary contributors to a broader ecosystem of activism. The analysis in this article is relevant for many movements and it’s republished from Medium with permission from the author. Image credit: Truthout.org on Flickr by Roderick Campbell Extinction Rebellion Ireland (XRI) is growing at a decent speed and has already hosted a number of public marches and street art performances. The movement currently follows the Extinction Rebellion International principles and policies, which make it a fully decentralised and non-hierarchical movement which is open to anyone who wants to participate. In Ireland they are currently opting for a consensus based approach to decisionmaking rather than a democratic process, and they are experimenting with using “circles” to organise around key issues like finance, tactics, and policies. The community is somewhat divided on the details, especially regarding the ambiguity of some of Extinction Rebellion’s principles and how they should be interpreted. There is also contention around the details of decisionmaking processes and key financial decisions. ...

Editor’s note: this article contains extensive excerpts from the Irish Republican Army’s Green Book, one of their key training documents during their 20th-century struggle against British occupation. Written by Liam Campbell “Don’t be seen in public marches, demonstrations or protests. Don’t be seen in the company of known Republicans, don’t frequent known Republican houses. Your prime duty is to remain unknown to the enemy forces and the public at large.” ...