Privacy Paranoia Pillars
This is basically a direct copy-pasta from my private reflection notes where I was exploring my growing unease about the state of the world and my digital footprint…largely but not exclusively triggered by the not-so-subtle-sort-your-shit-out themes of Westworld Season 3 (top notch sci-fi entertainment btw).
In response to the question “what am I worried about when I think about my privacy and security in a data dystopia? What’s at stake, and what can/should I be doing about it?” I made this slightly wordy list for myself. While I’m not going to expand on any of it at length here, I’m pasting it here as a shareable point of reference as the topic pops up quite frequently with friends and colleagues.
Principles to consider in an ever-increasingly dystopian future for freedom of information.
Private sentiment
purity of memory, mindful snapshots, independent conclusions, minimised exposure to targeted corporate / political manipulation
- independent reflection and thoughts - encrypted and backed up
- book digest & reviews
- private photo & video backup
- curated music backup
Social liberty
…secured through available assets & leveraged identity in order to maintain various personal privileges
- mitigated compromise of assets from inevitable and persistent digital breach targets
- ahead-of-the-curve credential strength
- isolated credentials
- secured leveraged identity credentials
- health data backups (also for independent comparison)
- backups of all official documents & attestations
- discreet leverage of privilege
- frustrate conventional stalking attempts
- frustrate ads, sales and marketing efforts
- carefully monitor and control public profiles - non-repudiation options?
- secured means of trade & procurement
- regularly monitored & sanity-checked net worth
- access to digital anonymous cash
- access to anonymous identity/credentials for independent passage & communication
- minimised critical external commercialised dependencies
- acquisition and indedependent maintenance of longlasting quality physical assets
- upskill where feasible
- avoid debt where reasonable
- leverage & maintain independent means of transport
- invest in personal health
- vehicle maintenance
Access to global truth & knowledge
available, reliable, honest
- decentralised and encrypted internet access
- global, reliable VPN
- access & support distributed, independent, quality journalism
- backup important content at risk of censorship
Drill for dramatic worst-case scenarios
because it’s only a matter of time 😱
- All backup recovery should be tested and documented
- Who should be equipped to navigate resources in my absence?
- facilitate a digital death protocol
- What would need to live in a Jason Bourne “grab bag”?
- Where could you go?
- What could you use?
- Who could you trust?
Does any of that make sense? Too crazy? Not cautious enough? What have I missed? Feel free to comment or get in touch. I have a feeling that I’ll be referring back to this brief post regularly for one reason or another in the coming years.