Well worth a watch.

About privacy and surveillance and also bitcoin and the dark web as well as a call for using more crytopgraphy. A bit over-dramatic at times but you some very interesting insights

iplayer

bbc website article here

Thing is, there is no such thing as “absolute security”. And the people most likely to be able to crack or otherwise circumvent internet security (in any of it’s forms) are those people with the most money and resources to buy/develop the skills to do just that. And those people are the security services. So, when you use software that makes you “anonymous” how do you know that it does? The average end user is not nearly smart enough to be able to tell how secure there “security” measures actually are.

Then there is the fact that if you are one of a small number of people using additional encryption/security in a sea of people who aren’t, then you will automatically focus attention on yourself by the very fact you are using “unusual” levels of security.

Thus, the key to internet anonymity is simply to be “average”, as it is very very difficult to find one average person in amongst 100million other average people……

I’ve never known Intellectual freedom, I don’t know anyone who has. I don’t believe it exists.

I had my first Hotmail account 15 years ago. MSN, Audiogalaxy and Napster soon followed. If it’s all logged, there’s a lot of information.

If you don’t want someone to know, don’t put it on the internet. The whole worlds going full speed “Children of Men” at the minute.

I wrote an actual letter the other day and folded it up really small.

Always burgle the house with CCTV.

An interesting point about being ‘average’. There are extensions available for Firefox that make you more ‘average’.

The best way for the spooks to get information is to make us believe that the systems we use are difficult to monitor. Then people with dodgy motives are more prone to make mistakes. I’m not convinced Tor now offers the anonimity it claims. Agree on the Mr Average 100%

Why are you worried about trying to be “average” to remain anonymous ?

Aren’t you actually “average” anyway, and just overthinking things a bit.

I couldn’t get on the dark web so I just turned down the brightness on my monitor.

I’m not trying to be anything. Other than spending too much time here my Internet use is boring at best. Was a point for people who wish to remain anonymous. Using encryption and tor is inviting unwanted attention.

I actually read something last week in which somebody complained that the subject of their interest was quite hard to track as they didn’t post much on Facebook. This got me thinking that in a few years, anybody who’s interested in finding out about me won’t be able to do their research because I still write letters on bits of paper and chat with my friends and neighbours face to face.

Heard a very interesting programme on R4 in which a government internet security bloke was talking about how all this data might be mis-used in the future, his comment was: “We just don’t know what will happen in 10 or 20 years. So to anybody thinking of posting lots of personal stuff on Facebook or any other social media site: don’t. Just don’t.”

It’s about hiding in plain sight. Most people will overlook the obvious as they will always be looking for something that is out of the ordinary, yet if you are ordinary then you won’t stand out. James Bond, if he had been real, would have made a terrible spy.

Apparently the upper echelons of German Government departments have gone back to writing internal memos on paper than than email, and having face meetings rather than voice calls, after the leaked information about American eavesdropping.

Thus, the key to internet anonymity is simply to be “average”, as it is very very difficult to find one average person in amongst 100million other average people……

Not true in the modern day as the NSA etc have the horse power to screen everything in detail…

In the George Smiley days it was easy to hide in the masses eg the best place to hide a car is in a car park etc. But with every number plate being scanned etc these old adages are no longer applicable.

Apparently the upper echelons of German Government departments have gone back to writing internal memos on paper than than email, and having face meetings rather than voice calls, after the leaked information about American eavesdropping.

Struck me last night watching the programme that’s the obvious solution… Same for payment transactions you don’t want tracked – go back to cash.

I’m not convinced Tor now offers the anonimity it claims.

It’s been cracked/hacked/whatever already.
Like any other system it has vulnerabilities, not necessarily in the software itself but in the way it works.

Also has vulnerabilities in use if the wrong type of link is followed it can lead to unmasking. Still quite an impressive system available to the man in the street especially in oppressive countries.

Tor was developed by the US Navy and gets 70% of its funding from the US military still. Ask yourself how anonymous it is.

Security is all about “enough”. Enough for the current task, enough that people don’t bother looking further, enough so that it’s not worth the effort. As with a lot of infosec, it’s a risk-based approach that wins here.

Exactly the same reason that years ago they backed off over PGP once they had the ability to crack the encryption it was better to make out that it was still secure.

Did they discuss the value of security forces being able to intercept communications between criminals/terrorists etc?