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RE: The VPN Illusion
Indeed, and it is an ever evolving field. I love it even though I may not be able to write the best code. One main thing we need to focus on is bringing the thought of security to a broader audience. Now that we know what we're dealing with (NSA leaks) and we should act on it. Crypto has also helped open the door to this type of discussion which I just absolutely love because these types of conversations were largely ignored in the past. There are no words for how excited I am to see new faces thinking about security! Welcome to the party! Thanks for the reply as well.
I am following you because I hope to build some contacts where these conversations can happen.
On the one hand, I am conservative. I would like to understand what is in play to protect critical infrastructure in any country from cyber attacks. On the other hand, I definitely want to be able to have meaningful conservations about these topics here on Steemit.
I am very much a beginner, but I am working every day on it. Hopefully, we can take some of this apart i nthe future. I will keep an eye on what you are posting.
Best wishes!
Sadly we don't have anything to protect critical infrastructure. All we can do is get ready for it, all our infrastructure can do is get contingency plans together.
I would really like to see what got you into such topics, was it crypto that helped bring these thoughts into focus or something else?
Thanks again!
It has always been something I found interesting. Then, I heard a Youtuber talking about the effects of cyber attacks on infrastructure. A few days later, Petya happened, which affected several hospitals. That made what the youtuber was saying much more vivid.
So it seemed like a good moment to start my experiment in autonomous learning.
I have a question for you. Are there any cyber security news sources that you prefer? I think becoming cyber security literate should include knowing a few good sources to quickly stay up to date in what is happening on the ground so to speak.
That's great to hear. Interesting that an attack brought you into focus on this subject, I actually don't hear that often. You would think that's were most people hear about things like this. But, from personal experience, most get into this because they were at one time compromised by something. Which made them want to learn more so that it doesn't happen in the future or to their loved ones.
There are many sources I use. It really depends on what you're looking for specifically. https://news.ycombinator.com/ is kinda like the "Reddit" of these things. Where as Cryptome is a little bit more focused on the actual files of whatever they talk about. Keep in mind that many of these sites are watched by three-letter agencies. GHCQ watches EVERYTHING that connects to Cryptome. Also assume that if you download a PDF, you will be watched. To avoid these eyes is another subject entirely but I think it's good you know. There isn't really any legal risk that I know of but as we know with these agencies, all they really care about is saving data. This is in case you do something in the future, then they will be able to pull up everything you've download or done and ask you about why you downloaded or viewed a specific file.
I recommend finding your own way around and just start searching for things because it's the best way to learn. I also recommend searching these types of things through Startpage because they proxy your searches and them forward the search query to Google. This offers a light protection against Google's(NSA) prying eyes. But none of these protections really work on Windows or Intel tech. There is just so much, which is why I highly recommend to just follow your nose where every it goes!
That some great stuff for me to look at. Tomorrow, when my voting power is somewhat replenished, I will come back and upvote this.
Yeah... I am being super transparent about my interests because of the amount of surveillance. I want to work on understanding how to secure myself from low- to mid-level criminals mainly as an exercise. I can see that thinking beyond that is pure hubris.
Thanks for the suggestions!
The human element is the weakest link in any chain of security. Phishing emails is a simple example to this. One of the first steps in securing yourself is to try and see your past mistakes. Easy passwords, public info, etc.
Thinking beyond is not hubris in my eyes, it is what is needed now. The internet helps bring light to this darkness but many still have their eyes closed.
You're very welcome @stover.daniel
Thank you for asking questions.