Well, I'm here, and it looks like nobody else is.

My public key to be used for secure communication is listed in the "About Me" section of my profile page.

Most people don't realize how computers work, to varying degrees. As a programmer, I dont' fully understand how the physical work of computing occurs, but I still understand aspects and pieces of the execution of code -- much more than the average joe on the street. To people today, computers are black, mysterious magic, a strange box that should be kept hidden and used sparingly.

Unsurprisingly, that is entirely the wrong way to go about anything, not just tech.

We radicals have always supported DIY initiatives, knowing its better to have a slight grasp of how something works than depend on experts and capitalists to give us the right information if we give them enough money. So why aren't more of us technologically literate? Yes, some believe that tech is "inherently evil", but right now, its probably the most powerful tool we have. This network is an example of that.

The internet and computers themselves are built to be decentralized. Machines on the internet communicate by copying data relayed between points back and forth to each other. In the machine world, there is an absence of any hierarchy. So far, all we as radicals have mastered is the shaky grasp of basic social networks; allowing human data to be trafficked. This site does that, and to a point does it well, but there's only so much that an activist can do in the open, and most activists will have you think that use of the internet for networking is about the dumbest move you could make, and one that'll land you in a Gulag in record time.

They're dead wrong.

For a great example of what they're missing out on, look at the Anonymous campaign against Scientology. A few people on the internet incite a few other people, and the effect travels through a community, leading to immediate, direct action against the oppressor. Within hours the main websites of Scientology were knocked offline, not by the efforts of "Elite Hackers" or "Cyber-terrorists", but just citizens and end-users, turning what little bandwidth they had into a massive flood.

And that was only the beginning.

Within a month, the first protests had been organized, and when they were executed, they gained widespread news coverage worldwide. Thousands of people, from Australia to Los Angeles, were mobilized by the core organizers of Anonymous, who, true to their name, remained nameless and invisible. Those thousands were not lead by a PAC or an umbrella organization, they were there because they had plugged in, so to speak, to the Anonymous Network, and were now actively re-broadcasting the signal. Anonymous mobilized far outside its normal supporters, extending a call to arms across all corners of its influence. That call was not only answered, but echoed, as those who were enticed turned to those around them and gained their assistance. This lead to a movement that has continued to drive forward today, even leading to legislative action against the Church of Scientology.

Of course, the biggest difference between many activist networking needs and that of Anonymous' is the need for security. While the actions of Anonymous were for the most part legal, the activist often runs afoul of the state, which is a very dangerous thing to do over insecure connections.

The goal of these articles is to provide an activist security primer, from the least to most intrusive steps taken to protect security. It should be noted that possibly the internet is the most secure communication tactic in existence; it can be encrypted, anonymized, and secured in a way that no other format can. It should also be noted that in this instance, "intrusive" only refers to the effort taken to install and configure the security measures, not to use. No security measure here discussed here will delay or prevent planning or networking, just provide ways to make it more secure.

Information is free.
Prometheum