Liberty and Encryption
I love technology, and frequently visit tech-centric websites such as LifeHacker and gHacks. I eventually had to re-format my hard drive once and start with a fresh installation of Windows XP, so full of programs my PC was. One particular program that caught my attention was TrueCrypt.
TrueCrypt is a sophisticated encryption program that allows a user to, with sufficient effort, render their personal data essentially impenetrably protected. There is an even more sophisticated privacy protection device known as IronKey. These aren’t just ‘protect from your nosey house mate’ levels of privacy but ‘military grade’ encryption.1
I gave TrueCrypt a try, but eventually got sick of it. Too much effort. Why would anyone other than deviates and paranoid nerds want to use these sophisticated programs? What have people got to hide? But recently I’ve begun to reconsider the question.
I guess it probably doesn’t occur to most of us that even the completely innocent people may end up being suspected of criminal activity and a warrant may be issued to search through their computers. There might not be anything incriminating on there, but would you want a total stranger (the Police and other authorities) gaining access to all your personal information, with the possibility that it might find it’s way to an even wider audience if mishandled? I like the idea of a truly private space that no one else can enter.
This is one reason why I might make an effort to get better acquanted with IT security. It will help protect information from data thiefs as well as legitimate authorities who should have no absolute right to intrude into our private space. It’s something I encourage others to do. It’s not about having something to hide but rather about drawing a line in cyberspace, one where no one else can’t cross.
Some articles to help improve your IT Security literacy include:
- I really shouldn’t engage in that sort of techno-marketing-speak but it makes it sound so cool. When people talk of ‘military grade’ encryption they generally mean AES compliant encryption, as approved by the US NSA. [↩]
Related Posts
- Faith and God
- Describing Dispersion or Measuring Spread
- Revising High School
- Making a Start on a New Series
- Closeness and Confidence
Comments
Leave a Reply
