After checking out this article from The New York Times, I got to thinking about electronic security and how it affects us in the new age of social media, especially as far as our Government is concerned. You see, it’s not just the Russians, the Chinese, or the Klingons who are engaged in this type of thing.
The United States Government has the capability to intercept and analyze everything that we send over the Internet. Not only that, but they’ve shown in the past that they can and will circumvent the Constitution in order to spy on U.S. citizens – without fear of punishment. I mean, let’s face it; we elected a guy who is even worse on civil liberties than George W. Bush.
Our Government has no shame – no scruples, and they will continue to invade the privacy of the citizenry in their futile effort to extract intelligence for the unsustainable War on Terror. They scan Twitter, Facebook – any social network they can get their hands on. They read email, text messages, and listen in on phone calls with the help of our friendly cell carriers. These people only have your best interests at heart, though, right?
Right?
So what is one to do? Should we close our Twitter and Facebook accounts? As much as I’d like to say yes to that question, it’s not so simple. Simply removing your online presence doesn’t do any good without covering one’s own tracks, anyway. Encrypting your transmissions and keeping them limited to known-secure services is ultimately the best way to counteract snooping of this kind. This means using public email systems like Gmail is out. You should have a secure email server that you trust (or configured yourself), and using anonymity software like Tor is a good idea as well. And for FSM’s sake, stay away from open wireless access points.
Sound like paranoia? That’s because it is. Unfortunately, our Government has fostered a climate in the United States where the citizens should feel justified in their paranoia. Not paranoia against Muslim terrorists, mind you, but paranoia against the prying eyes of Government. After all, if a 5-minute YouTube clip can get you sacked by the F.B.I., perhaps we have a lot more to worry about than we think.
We now live in an time where asserting your rights is probable cause for infringing upon said rights.
“No, officer, I will not consent to a search of my vehicle.”
“That’s it, step out of the car. We’re conducting a search.”
This is the name of the game, folks. Is it paranoia to protect your online activities? Perhaps. Is it smart? Definitely.
