So You Think You Don’t Care About Privacy

As a substance of humanities analysis, the narration betwixt secrecy and privateness tin beryllium stated successful an axiom: the defence of privateness follows, and ne'er precedes, the emergence of caller technologies for the vulnerability of secrets — Jill Lepore

You deliberation you don’t attraction astir privacy, since you person thing to hide.

OK, manus maine your laptop, telephone and passwords truthful I tin look astatine your messages, purchases and browsing past for the past year.

If you won’t bash immoderate oregon each of this, you really bash attraction astir immoderate privacy.

Edward Snowden summed this up successful a station connected Reddit:

“Arguing that you don’t attraction astir the close to privateness due to the fact that you person thing to fell is nary antithetic than saying you don’t attraction astir escaped code due to the fact that you person thing to say.”

And yet, astir radical deliberation they don’t attraction astir privateness due to the fact that they person thing to hide; they are not successful a (currently) repressive government; they aren’t wounded by immoderate arbitrary laws; oregon they are not “into” authorities and would not protest.

But, would you attraction about:

• Your income being public?
• Your nett worthy being public?
• Your purchases being nationalist and by hold , your carnal acquisition determination being public?

Can you cognize for definite that you volition ne'er person a household subordinate who is suffering and you request to bargain thing illicit successful bid to easiness their suffering?

Would you privation your aesculapian records and purchases to beryllium public? Would you privation immoderate intelligence wellness notes oregon records to beryllium public?

The conception that a person’s dying words mightiness beryllium “Erase my browser history” has go a punch line.

Technology And Privacy — History To Future

Back successful 1890 (132 years ago!), Brandeis and Warren (not Elizabeth) wrote “The Right to Privacy,” which foretold the privateness compromises that exertion would enable.

"Instantaneous photographs and paper endeavor person invaded the ineffable precincts of backstage and home life; and galore mechanical devices endanger to marque bully the prediction that ‘what is whispered successful the closet shall beryllium proclaimed from the house-tops.’"

In 1993, the “Cypherpunk’s Manifesto” stated the aforesaid concerns:

“Privacy is indispensable for an unfastened nine successful the physics age…privacy is the powerfulness to selectively uncover oneself to the world.”

Very soon afterwards, these aforesaid cypherpunks fought to guarantee that cryptography and encryption were ineligible — successful bid to alteration people’s privateness successful the integer age.

Fast-forward to 2022, galore bans connected encryption person resurfaced, from the Earn IT successful the US, to akin efforts in the European Union.

That basal method instrumentality for privateness — encryption — is connected the chopping artifact truthful that governments (or hackers) tin adjacent into backstage information.

In my opinion, you should attraction astir privateness due to the fact that accusation is power.

Information Is Power

Regardless of whether it’s you, your societal media supplier oregon the authorities who is compromising your backstage information, that accusation astir you is powerfulness implicit you by whoever has that information.

Maybe you don’t attraction now. But astatine immoderate point, you whitethorn care. Especially arsenic a Bitcoiner.

Per Jameson Loop, “you whitethorn not beryllium a people close present — but you whitethorn go 1 successful the aboriginal arsenic your wealthiness increases, you endorse unpopular governmental oregon spiritual perspectives or… you marque a azygous station connected societal media successful mediocre judgment.”

The much idiosyncratic knows astir us, the much powerfulness they person implicit us:

• Pricing goods oregon services according to income, recognition people oregon anterior unrelated purchases.
• Extortion oregon reputational damage.
• Physical information oregon access.

Your Data Has Been Obtained Via A Data Compromise

If you thought you didn’t attraction astir privacy, did you attraction erstwhile you recovered retired a atrocious histrion had hacked a Bitcoin company’s vendor and present has your idiosyncratic data?

If your information was compromised, that atrocious histrion present knows you clasp Bitcoin. If your location code was leaked, they present cognize wherever you live. Together, those 2 pieces of accusation tin compromise your carnal safety, arsenic good arsenic the information of anyone who lives with you. Even if the atrocious histrion lone knows your email code oregon telephone number, it’s imaginable that a web hunt reveals your spot of work. From there, idiosyncratic could travel you home.

If you didn’t attraction astir privateness earlier this compromise, I americium guessing you bash now. Even if you weren’t compromised, it should beryllium an eye-opener for privateness concerns.

It’s a bully reminder to amended your privateness practices. If you judge successful the aboriginal usage and values of Bitcoin, it’s an imperative.

Bitcoin And Lightning Network Use And Privacy

To beryllium prepared, it’s champion to research, recognize and instrumentality privateness best-practices for Bitcoin and Lightning tools and trade-offs arsenic good arsenic related instrumentality and idiosyncratic information that I wrote astir successful “Bitcoin Opsec Tips.”

Even if you inactive don’t attraction astir privateness for yourself, cognize that privateness matters for galore others successful different situations successful the world. Your actions oregon inactions with Bitcoin and Lightning tin compromise their security.
As L0LA L33TZ recently wrote:

“This communal misconception has stood firmly for the past fewer decades: idiosyncratic privateness lone regards our idiosyncratic actions — portion the world is that our ain privateness affects the privateness of everyone we interact with.”

After each of the above, if you inactive deliberation you don’t attraction astir privateness for yourself oregon others, don’t accidental we didn’t pass you erstwhile you yet do.

This is simply a impermanent station by Heidi Porter. Opinions expressed are wholly their ain and bash not needfully bespeak those of BTC Inc oregon Bitcoin Magazine.