Background
I usually do a ton of research before dropping a new episode. That research gives me the space to understand a concept and then present it to you as simply and as organized as possible. Basically, I’m educating myself to become more of a subject matter expert.
But today’s episode is different: I’m just turning over the reigns to an actual expert and stepping aside.
Today’s Expert
There aren’t many people in the United States who come from families that have all served in the Federal Government.
Of those, fewer have deep experience and expertise in the fields of digital security and privacy. Of those, even fewer have had substantial experience deploying technologies and techniques onto the very pillars that hold up our communications: the Internet and cellular phone networks. Of those, only the best and brightest are tapped to work in top government security organizations like the CIA or NSA.
And of that smallest population of most refined experts, only a handful have been so horrified at what they were asked to do that they became a whistleblower, revealing critical information to the press about what the US Government was doing behind closed doors.
You might think of Edward Snowdon as a traitor. You might think of Edward Snowdon as a true defender of Democracy. I understand both points of view.
For today’s episode, I ask that we put politics aside and at least agree on this: the fella knows a shit ton about digital privacy and security from a very rarified perspective.
I recently stumbled across this conversation that Snowdon had with NBC’s Brian Williams. It was riveting. I found myself impressed with Snowdon’s communication skills, passion for Democracy, and easy-to-understand intelligence on the very matters we discuss here in the newsletter: safety, security, privacy, and digital freedom.
I came away from the interview genuinely shaken. That’s because I was once again reminded of how some governments - including ours here in the US - are doing what they can to undermine digital freedoms and privacy.
Despite the interview being recorded in September 2019, it still seems as relevant today as I’m sure it did when it originally aired.
The Two Links
The first video embedded below is the link to the entire interview. It’s worth watching. The wide-ranging conversation includes the details of Snowdon’s political exile, the Espionage Act, Snowdon’s own family & history, the former President of the United States and his administration, the polarization of society, the FISA courts, the murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi murder, and more.
The second video embedded below is just a bookmark to that part of the same interview when the conversation shifts to a focus on digital security and privacy. It’s fascinating to hear what Snowdon does to any smartphone before he’s willing to use it.
The Implications
Everyone has different security and privacy protocols. Some of us - because of who we are or what we do - might require a level of privacy and security that others might not need. Easy to understand.
But we can’t understand what we need to attain better privacy and security until we know which threats we face. In this interview (and others) Snowdon lays those truths bare.
Therefore, at the risk of repeating myself, here are a few things you can do to immediately help improve or “harden” your security profile:
Only use Signal for sending messages to family & friends. Text messages are great but the platforms that run them aren’t open-source and end-to-end encrypted. Signal is. Start using it now.
Purchase and use a Farraday cage for your smartphone (affiliate link). Putting your phone in one of these bags will shield your phone from having access to just about all electronic communications: WiFi, Cellular, GPS, NFC, RFID, and more. Just remember: only take your phone out of its bag in known, safe locations.
Use ProtonMail for all of your secure email needs. Regular email is fine if what you’re sharing isn’t important. For all financial, medical, and legal matters, I use ProtonMail. I ask my colleagues to do so as well. The platform allows extremely convenient and powerful security and privacy tools.
Find and use a trust VPN or Virtual Private Network. I’m a broken record on this, I know. But there’s a reason why. In Episode 44, I did another deep dive into my process and requirements for choosing a safe VPN provider details. For many years, I’ve paid to use Nord as my VPN provider and they continue to serve my needs very well (affiliate link). If I’m online with my phone, tablet, or computer, I’m behind my NordVPN. Simple as that.
Use the 100% free Authy app to help you set up and use TFA or two-factor authentication on all of your most precious accounts: email, social media, investments & banking, online shopping, and any master accounts for Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, or any of the other major technology companies. And be sure to use Authy’s super easy tutorials to learn HOW to set up TFA on all of your accounts.
Start there and you’ll improve quickly. Once you’re used to these tools, check back on some of my other popular episodes to learn about tools that might be suitable for your needs, friends.
And that’s a wrap for today’s episode. Thanks again to my free and paid subscribers for supporting independent technology journalism. I also thank you, in advance, for using the link below to share Tech Talk with your friends, family, and colleagues.
As always… Surf safe.
Popular Past Issues:
Which secure routers to purchase and WHY.
My 2021 recommendations on the best VPN providers.
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A crash course on keeping your devices updated.
Product Recommendations
These are the devices and services that I personally use. I pay for everything you see listed here. I made these choices after much research and recommendations from tech industry colleagues.
The online backup software I use: iDrive (affiliate link)
The VPN software that I use: Nord VPN (affiliate link)
The email anonymizer that I use: 33Mail (affiliate link)
The secure router I use at my office: Gryphon (affiliate link)
The secure router I use at my home: Synology (affiliate link)
The service I use to block spam calls/texts: Uncall (affiliate link)
Transparency Statement
Some of the products and services I recommend pay me a small commission if you decide to purchase them. Making purchases based on my recommendations never costs you extra. In fact, it can sometimes save you money because I get access to certain discounts which aren’t available to the general public.
It’s a win-win: you save money and help me earn an additional salary from my writing. Thank you, in advance, for that. It’s an easy way for anyone to support my work, research, and expertise. Affiliate links will be shown like this → (affiliate link) to make them easy to identify.
In case you’re curious:
I’ve purchased, owned, tested, and/or deeply researched every single thing I recommend.
I’m never paid to sell software or hardware to you.
I retain 100% editorial control over everything I write.
The companies, products, or services that I recommend don’t know that I’m going to mention them.
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