Today I begin my series on privacy tech with the required background that may motivate the people who, for example, are still using products of companies that have demonstrated 0 interest in the privacy of their users including Microsoft, Google, Facebork and Amazon.
I have over 15 years experience as a system and network administrator. I have taken tens of thousands of support calls and tickets and worked for a well known silicon valley company involved in threat intelligence. (they were insufferable and incapable of even the most basic security for themselves, I was 'let go' when I refused to overlook someone (who was obviously using sniffing drugs at work) stealing the computer of a high level ex-military analysts from my secured server room, and I haven't looked back.)
I have been writing about my experiences being followed, harassed, and the many, many times they have attempted to bait me into what would, for someone like my background, be ridiculous, outlandish crimes. As well as the general conspiratorial way in which power is exercised by those attempting to institute various forms of permanent oligarchies on planet earth.
The following posts have a lot of my background over the last year:
https://steemit.com/politics/@mindhawk/the-american-festival-scene-is-overrun-with-undercover-police-and-private-spying-firms-part-1
https://steemit.com/conspiracy/@mindhawk/what-i-learned-about-the-police-state-this-summer-part-2
https://steemit.com/news/@mindhawk/my-best-friend-was-a-cop-part-3
https://steemit.com/psychedelic/@mindhawk/secrets-i-have-uncovered-for-you
https://steemit.com/politics/@mindhawk/the-scary-edges-of-the-new-age
https://steemit.com/conspiracy/@mindhawk/is-rule-by-mafia-the-permanent-future-of-humanity
I will now list a series of key significant articles where information about specific and general threats was verified by serious professionals(even more serious than me...)
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/how-bill-marczak-spyware-can-control-the-iphone
https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/events/2016/defending-dissidents-targeted-digital-surveillance
Besides Marszak, you should also know one of my favorite writers, Barrett Brown:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_Brown
Thanks to Barrett(and I believe Mr. Hammond and others, who have reportedly had similar harassment experiences) we learned about the Stratfor files, which details how everyone who is in any way organizes for changes in the USA and maybe the world, can expect actual secret police agents to infiltrate whatever it is that they attempt:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_Stratfor_email_leak
https://www.thenation.com/article/strange-case-barrett-brown/
The global intelligence files at wikileaks: https://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html
Notable quote from the first page:
"[Y]ou have to take control of him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control... This is intended to start our conversation on your next phase" – CEO George Friedman to Stratfor analyst Reva Bhalla on 6 December 2011, on how to exploit an Israeli intelligence informant providing information on the medical condition of the President of Venezuala, Hugo Chavez.
After many years of denial, the 'not evil' company google revealed it, and any US spy agency who asks, and anyone who leaks or resells it, has all of the location tracking data for every android phone:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/22/google-android-and-apple-track-your-location_n_852529.html
Windows 10 logs every keystroke, although MS friendly news outlets like 'zdnet' deny it still to this day:
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2974057/windows/how-to-turn-off-windows-10s-keylogger-yes-it-still-has-one.html
Another very qualified person on the front lines is from poland and has been working on the OS Qubes, while pointing out that windows and intel products are very vulnerable(I believe intentionally so but make up your own mind)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Rutkowska
https://www.qubes-os.org/downloads/
John Trudell who recently passed on, had a 17000 page fbi file because he was an eloquent speaker he was considered 'extremely dangerous.' Indicating that only by saying smart things you can get the attention of law enforcement, and his family died under mysterious circumstances:
http://www.windspeaker.com/news/footprints/john-trudell-more-than-an-activist-with-a-huge-fbi-file/
Then of course MKUltra, where the government destroyed nearly all records related to drug experimentation and controls on citizens. The culprits were never punished and there is nothing stopping them from continuing with these programs. I personally can attest to being dosed by agents whether government or privatesec, on multiple occasions:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra#Deaths
The fbi tries to pretend that COINTELPRO has ended, but as with many aspects of unethical law enforcement and as documented in the Global Intelligence files, and to which I can also testify being infiltrated on numerous occasions, and it is obvious to me that many pop-up news websites and 'activism' groups are actually part of the modern version of this, definitely attempting to infiltrate the crypto world, and of course Steemit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO
Then there is the story of truecrypt(now veracrypt). If you attempt privacy, that alone is reason for them to infiltrate your project or organization. Any privacy is seen as a crime by the people who attempt to rule us.
https://forum.truecrypt.ch/t/safeguards-against-nsa-infiltration/185
"The NSA is likely monitoring these forums (and saving the posts in their server farms) and there is a strong possibility national governments have already infiltrated the managerial or development teams. Such a project, due to its ramifications if successful, would be of vital interest to U.S. national security and could not be allowed to proceed without being compromised."
I was told by my higher up 'security researchers' at the silicon valley company I formerly worked for that no one from the NSA, who populated the companies (with whom we were competing for contacts with the Federal Reserve banking system). They laughted at me. Then within the year this happened:
https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/nsa-employee-pleads-guilty-to-illegally-retaining-national-defense-secrets-/d/d-id/1330546
I had of course heard of LOVEINT already, which informed me that the abuse of power in these agencies with access to who knows how many backdoors:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOVEINT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEXINT
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/09/loveint-on-his-first-day-of-work-nsa-employee-spied-on-ex-girlfriend/
It has been known for several years(to people in the industry who follow for instance the qubes project) that Intel processors, at least(and probably many things made in china and russia) contain built in backdoors:
https://www.wired.com/story/intel-management-engine-vulnerabilities-pcs-servers-iot/
So many security applications(including my ffs) have been lost that global operations for the united states are extremely hindered:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-cyber-spy-20150831-story.html
I'll even include the CIA's own source though ymmv:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/chinese-hack-of-government-network-compromises-security-clearance-files/2015/06/12/9f91f146-1135-11e5-9726-49d6fa26a8c6_story.html
Then, of course, the credit record of nearly every american was lost, and no one will ever be compensated for this(fml, again)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/equifax-hack-happened-according-ceo
And to add to this, as if it could get any worse, the Wifi security protocol used by most people on earth, WPA2 isn't even kindof secure from cracks that can be run by teenagers:
https://www.howtogeek.com/202441/your-wi-fi%e2%80%99s-wpa2-encryption-can-be-cracked-offline-here%e2%80%99s-how/
This wall of evidence should be enough to prove to any thinking person that simply checking the box and going with the flow, and trusting big brother with your privacy is simply a way to ensure that you have none.
Big Brother, whose shadowy presence is clearly outlined here, makes the case that anyone who wants privacy must be a violent revolutionary, spy of some kind, or threat to children.
I reject that stance in its entirety. These articles demonstrate beyond any doubt that nearly every other aspect of life, from romance to business to science to art stands to be comprimised, as well as any attempt at peaceful change through means that are clearly stated by the law to be legal.
Big Brother (and Big Sister, why not) have demonstrated beyond any doubt, that anyone who seeks to hold power over their own lives and own mind is considered a threat, and only by fully giving over the destiny of your mind to them would you be considered a fully legal person and not placed on some kind of list for increased surveillance and harassment as have I.
Which is to say, if everything you say and think is not available 24/7 for the extended future, to every spy agency in the world, you are a target.
And do you really think you are safe though if you just let them have it all? Do you know it won't be leaked or resold by opportunistic and traitorous employees? (I just proved that it will be, you'd have to be literally illiterate at this point in the article not to already know that isn't the case)
If you own a fricking burger joint, the burger joint across the street may want all of your sales data so he can use it to compete better with you. If you date someone who is wealthy, he may decide to purchase a batch of your files off the darknet, including things you said around an alexa or iphone from the age you could start to even speak. A future employer or government agencies may be able to search everything you ever said in elementary school for any signs of disloyalty or precrime.
The proof of the inevitability of abuse is overwhelming, complete, mountainous even.
And yet Apple and Microsoft continue to make each iteration of their operating systems, (and we could can add the xbox platform to that) more integrated with 'the cloud'(read someone else's computers that could literally be anywhere and have any level of security)
I grew up with this technology, I remember a different time, when there was a great fear of technology being used to control humanity and take away all privacy. I remember when it was in fashion to make an argument that email should be private like physical mail. I remember when everyone with a computer was assumed to have personal files that the government or the maker of the computer or OS should not be able to just access on a whim if you were looking for a reason to imprison or otherwise place someone under your control.
Perhaps you do too? Maybe some of you remember this advertisement:
I hold and assert that a human being has a natural right to purchase and use machines for their own personal use.
I hold and assert that the world 'personal' means that it should be difficult or impossible for other entities to legally or technologically access(read: steal) your information, store it for however long they want, and search it for clues they may use to attack or threaten you.
I hold and assert that a government that does not recognize this right and refuses to abide by a rule of law that gives everyone, regardless of class or wealth the same right, is inherently, absolutely, without question, tyrannical, illegitimate and must be overthrown to prevent humans from being imprisoned by their own machines, possibly forever.
I hold these truths to be self-evident. Question them freely, but I hope you accept my counsel, it will be to your peril if you ignore them.
In a hope for a better future,
BTC: 3JoPHxYfiRzi5tzD9LSJ4G6t6d84NSHW6j
ETH: 0xa0874e0C6a77de45F6af71F5A63374747678E629
BTS: actual-mindhawk
p.s. putting this together took some work, and I just left the united states for my own safety. I could really use a hand(or just to be compensated for my work...) at this time if you have the power to do so.
@mindhawk