The choices below are listed in no particular order and, wherever possible, we link to author websites and privacy-respecting sources.

Reading about surveillance capitalism may not warm your heart, but it could put a fire in your belly and encourage you to #DemandFreedom in 2019.

The End of Trust – McSweeney’s Issue 54 (Nov. 2018)

Compiled by the team at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for McSweeney’s, this collection features writing by luminaries like Cory Doctorow, Gabriella Coleman, Edward Snowden, Bruce Schneier, and many more. Among the gems within is a conversation between artist Trevor Paglen and journalist Julia Angwin, with Paglen having this to say about the intersection of freedom and privacy:

“I think I had the sense of growing up within structures that didn’t work for me and feeling like there was a deep injustice around that. Feeling like the world was set up to move you down certain paths and to enforce certain behaviors and norms [didn’t] work for me, and realizing that the value of this word formerly known as privacy, otherwise known as liberty, plays not only at the scale of the individual, but also as a kind of public resource that allows for the possibility of, on one hand, experimentation, but then, on the other hand, things like civil liberties and self-representation.”

Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-connected World – Bruce Schneier, W. W. Norton & Company (Sep. 2018)

Schneier’s latest book is a sobering account of the pitfalls of modern technology. It covers a lot of ground, such as the huge gap between security and implementation in Internet-of-Things devices. The author has a gift for raising questions that cause the reader to rethink the underlying technology behind seemingly-simple tech, like network-connected baby monitors:

“They’re surveillance devices by design, and can pick up a lot more than a baby’s cries. Of course, I had a lot of security questions. How is the audio and video transmission secured? What’s the encryption algorithm? How are encryption keys generated, and who has copies of them? If data is stored on the cloud, how long is it stored and how is it secured? How does the smartphone app, if the monitor uses one, authenticate to the cloud server?”

American Spies: Modern Surveillance, Why You Should Care, and What to Do About It – Jennifer Stisa Granick, Cambridge University Press (Jan. 2017)

Granick gives the reader a real sense of just how big, and just how pervasive, U.S. intelligence programs really are. The author doesn’t stop with government programs, however, and calls out Big Tech for its major role in population surveillance:

“Spying is thriving not only because of technology, but also because of modern business models. Much of the modern privacy problem is the result of people giving up their data – knowingly or otherwise – to obtain cool new products and services.”

Nothing to Hide: The False Tradeoff between Privacy and Security – Daniel J. Solove, Yale University Press (Jan. 2013)

This is a now-classic rumination on the deeply important role of privacy in autonomy and freedom. It quickly demolishes the “nothing to hide argument”, a constant refrain in today’s privacy debates, and continues to shed light on social and legal dimensions of surveillance. Here, Solove highlights contradictory perceptions of audio and video snooping:

“The electronic-surveillance statutes strongly protect against the government’s eavesdropping on your conversations but don’t protect against the government’s watching you. This distinction doesn’t make a lot of sense. Video surveillance involves similar threats to privacy as audio surveillance. As one court noted: ‘Television surveillance is identical in its indiscriminate character to wiretapping and bugging. It is even more invasive of privacy… but it is not more indiscriminate: the microphone is as ‘dumb’ as the television camera; both devices pick up anything within their electronic reach, however irrelevant to the investigation.'”

Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance – Julia Angwin, Times Books (Feb. 2014)

Angwin is no stranger to the many facets of surveillance capitalism, and this book is just as prescient now as it was five years ago. In that time, the author’s concerns have been validated, with the pace of Big Tech’s blunders only escalating. Angwin keeps the human element in constant view, giving vital context to headlines about privacy and data catastrophes:

“Skeptics say: ‘What’s wrong with all of our data being collected by unseen watchers? Who is being harmed?’ Admittedly, it can be difficult to demonstrate personal harm from a data breach. If Sharon or Bilal is denied a job or insurance, they may never know which piece of data caused the denial. People placed on the no-fly list are never informed about the data that contributed to the decision. But, on a larger scale, the answer is simple: troves of personal data can and will be abused.”

Free Software, Free Society, 3rd Edition – Richard M. Stallman, Free Software Foundation (Oct. 2015)

Stallman’s status as an icon in the Free/Libre world is often the focus of press. Bootstrapping GNU and the Free Software movement was no small feat, but there is too little focus on Stallman’s writing. The author’s philosophy is grounded in practical concerns and explained with a clear and mindful tone that few writers possess. This most recent edition of Stallman’s collected essays describes just how important liberty is in the contemporary digital context:

“If ‘cloud computing’ has a meaning, it is not a way of doing computing, but rather a way of thinking about computing: a devil-may-care approach which says, ‘Don’t ask questions. Don’t worry about who controls your computing or who holds your data. Don’t check for a hook hidden inside our service before you swallow it. Trust companies without hesitation.’ In other words, ‘Be a sucker.’”

Defending Politically Vulnerable Organizations Online – Sean Brooks, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (July 2018)

In this report from the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC), Brooks provides a broad overview of the cybersecurity landscape. This is a great introduction for industry professionals and consumers alike, though it focuses on civil organizations that are often targeted for political reasons. The report’s citations are a valuable resource in their own right, providing context as well as technological solutions. The author is quick to point out lackluster investment in cybersecurity in both the public and private spheres, describing the vicious cycle this creates:

“The broad asymmetry between attackers and defenders online is unsurprising; politically vulnerable organizations lack resources and are therefore particularly under-protected. This problem is not unique to politically vulnerable organizations. Many public and private organizations have underinvested in cybersecurity and have become soft targets for criminals and other bad actors. Online attackers have continued to develop their offensive capabilities, exacerbating the mismatch.”

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup – John Carreyrou, Penguin Random House (May 2018)

This story of the rise and fall of biotech startup Theranos is a page-turner, described here with all the detail of investigative journalism. Carreyrou’s most interesting passages are those where the author describes the culture of Silicon Valley, where fraudulent CEO Elizabeth Holmes was desperately trying to fill the mold of her Big Tech heroes:

“For a young entrepreneur building a business in the heart of Silicon Valley, it was hard to escape the shadow of Steve Jobs. By 2007, Apple’s founder had cemented his legend in the technology world and in American society at large… to anyone who spent time with Elizabeth, it was clear that she worshipped Jobs and Apple.”

The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner – Daniel Ellsberg, Bloomsbury USA (Dec. 2017)

Decades after the legendary whistleblower disclosed the Pentagon Papers to the American public, Ellsberg’s warnings will still ring alarm bells and shock the reader. Through first-hand accounts, the author chronicles the nuclear program of the 1960’s and the dangers of the present day, describing the contrasting roles of secrecy and transparency, as well as their relationship to trust:

“Like discussion of covert operations and assassination plots, nuclear war plans and threats are taboo for public discussion by the small minority of officials and consultants who know anything about them. In addition to their own sense of identity as trustworthy keepers of these most-sensitive secrets, there is a strong careerist aspect to their silence.”

The Participatory Condition in the Digital Age – Electronic Mediations Book 51 (Nov. 2016)

This collection of articles spans the gamut from street protests to online “hacktivism” to Free and Open-Source collaboration. The editors expertly summarize the transdisciplinary tone of the volume in an introductions that’s worth contemplating in its own right. Among other issues, Gabriella Coleman describes Kate Crawford’s work on the power and scale of spying:

“Ubiquitous surveillance facilitated by [information and communications technology or ICTs] – what Crawford designates as ‘algorithmic listening’ – and the gathering of personal data currently operated by web-based corporations (commercial surveillance) and governments (the NSA program, for example) are not simply matters of privacy but also of scale and lack of accountability.”

Privacy and Big Data: The Players, Regulators, and Stakeholders – Terence Craig & Mary Ludloff, O’Reilly Media (Sep. 2011)

Published at a time when “Big Data” was more of a buzzword than a factor of everyday life, this book is a quick and easy introduction to the perils of the data economy. The lessons would seem dated if they weren’t still applicable, and there’s perhaps nothing more prescient than the fact that data can not only be sold by Big Tech to business partners, it can be given away:

“While the IP stakeholders have been busy redefining “privacy” for their own ends, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and others have been equally busy making billions of dollars collecting your data and using it for targeted advertising. Of course, any company or organization that collects data can offer it for sale or free.”

Habeas Data: Privacy vs. the Rise of Surveillance Tech – Cyrus Farivar, Melville House (May 2018)

Farivar exposes the role of common, household tech in the global surveillance apparatus, diving into the court cases and legal precedent that shapes the scope and limits of privacy and security. Above all, the author steeps his analysis in history, with quotes from legal heavyweights like Louis Brandeis, here discussing wiretaps in a famous dissenting opinion:

“‘The progress of science in furnishing the Government with means of espionage is not likely to stop with wiretapping,’ Brandeis wrote. ‘Ways may someday be developed by which the Government, without removing papers from secret drawers, can reproduce them in court, and by which it will be enabled to expose to a jury the most intimate occurences of the home.'”

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All this pressure to conform and bring spy hubs into homes is a strange phenomenon: it’s occurring while the U.S. has near-monthly Congressional hearings on Big Tech’s blunders and at a time when consumer desire for privacy is at an all-time high.

At Purism, we believe that privacy is more than a choice—it’s a requirement. We make beautiful, functional, smart computer hardware that puts you in control with the safety, security, and verification that there is no built-in tracking or surveillance. We protect the supply chain from boot to browser, giving you the tools you need to safeguard your digital life.

From now until January 6th, we’re introducing “It’s a Secure Life” bundles. Enjoy 15% to 18% off on bundles containing the Librem 5 smartphone (preorder), the Librem 15 laptop, and the Librem Key. To benefit from this, simply add the two or three qualifying items (a Librem 15, a Librem Key, and, optionally, a Librem 5) to your cart and you will see a coupon automatically applied for you. There are many combinations possible, so this promotion’s rebates can be summarized roughly as follows:

• Save from $350 to $467 on the full bundle comprised of the Librem 15, Librem 5 and Librem Key
• Save from $250 to $358 on the Librem 15 + Librem Key only bundle

The amount of base price savings depend on your keyboard configurations and the choice of a TPM model or not. In particular, there are still a few non-TPM UK models or German TPM models that are on clearance, where additional price savings will compound with the rebates mentioned above.

Don’t buy dodgy tablets and smartphones, gag gifts, or toy robots that record the conversations of children. You and your loved ones can start off 2019 with a secure digital life instead, pioneering the path to privacy with Purism.

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If anything has changed since Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, it’s that more and more people are jumping ship from the Frightful Five: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft. At Purism, we offer an alternative to the polluted software ecosystems of these tech giants.

Our code is Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS), the industry standard in security because it can be verified by experts and amateurs alike. The software on our Librem laptops and our upcoming phone stands on a strong, foundational chain of trust that is matched by hardware features such as kill switches. These switches give people the added assurance that their devices won’t record or “phone home” to advertisers, spies, and cyber criminals. Turn off WiFi, microphone, and webcam on the Librem 5 and they’re off, no question about it.

Purism’s combination of trustworthy hardware and software is a win for privacy advocates, enterprise, and the so-called average user. We believe that everyone deserves privacy and that security, freedom, and autonomy are closely linked. To build a libre and privacy-respecting world, however, we need to fathom the scope of the problem and meet it head-on.

The Times exposé follows the movements of Lisa Magrin, a school teacher. On Ms. Magrin’s trips to school, location markers were recorded “more than 800 times” often in her classroom. But it doesn’t stop there: “An app on the device gathered her location information, which was then sold without her knowledge. It recorded her whereabouts as often as every two seconds… While Ms. Magrin’s identity was not disclosed in [phone] records, The Times was able to easily connect her to [a spot on the map].”

Think that’s invasive? Apps continued to track Ms. Magrin while she traveled to a Weight Watchers meeting, to a dermatologist, hiking with her dog, and to her ex-boyfriend’s home. Many people know that tracking is ubiquitous, but facing the stark results is a harrowing experience.

Privacy researchers have known the pitfalls of ever-listening sensors for a long time, so I wish I could say this is news to me. My research at Yale Privacy Lab has explored smartphone spying in detail, and I’ve personally dug into the privacy pitfalls of everything from Google’s bogus location settings to snooping billboards. This time last year, Yale Privacy Lab collaborated with the researchers at Exodus Privacy and utilized the excellent Exodus scanner to reveal just how polluted the mobile app ecosystem really is.

What do I mean when I say “polluted”?  Apps that are submitted to either Google Play or the iOS App Store contain hidden trackers in the form of Software Development Kits (SDKs). These are clandestine snippets of code that ask for invasive permissions such as camera, network, and microphone control. Such tracker SDKs may collect and transmit location, personal information, and behavioral analytics.  In some cases, these hidden snippets of code react to ultrasonic tones that are silent to humans, allowing retailers and marketers to track the proximity of users as they walk around malls and retail outlets. These hidden “anti-features” have been a standard part of both Google and Apple’s app store model, communicating with spying Internet-of-Things devices such as iBeacons.

I work at Purism because I know we can solve this problem. Big changes are on the horizon in society at large, and people are fed up with surveillance capitalism. Purism offers replacements for the privacy prisons of the Frightful Five. You don’t have to become a luddite to enjoy them, either — our products are as beautiful as they are secure.

Take a stand, #DemandFreedom, and join the world that we’re making.

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The “proof of the pudding is in the eating”, and Purism devices are much more than a treat. For decades, the IT security industry has understood that software must be verified to be trusted, and that such trust can only be provided by Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS). Way back in 1999, security expert Bruce Schneier made the observation: “In the cryptography world, we consider [FOSS] necessary for good security; we have for decades… For us, [FOSS] isn’t just a business model; it’s smart engineering practice.”

At Purism, our laptops and upcoming Librem 5 smartphone have this “smart engineering practice” baked-in — the operating system is 100% FOSS and we’ve replaced the sketchy proprietary BIOS with coreboot. PureOS meets the high standards of the Free Software Foundation’s endorsement, giving you the assurance that it contains no secret, unverifiable, proprietary code.

Cybersecurity firms have witnessed big changes in the digital landscape and a series of high-profile data breaches like the one last week at Amazon. However, the basic security principles have stayed the same.

When there are questions about spying microchips at Apple and Amazon, for example, security analysts look at the supply chain as the suspect. At Purism, we protect the digital supply chain. Our pioneering development of the Librem 5 smartphone requires us to validate each component, taking an active role in the design and testing of the device from the silicon and schematics on up.

If you take cybersecurity seriously, you need to steer clear from the ever-creepier Amazon gadgets and get Purism in your life. Beyond trust and assurance, you get the simple features you need to make security easy. The Librem line of laptops features hardware kill switches for webcam, microphone, bluetooth, and WiFi, and the Librem 5 smartphone will have them too. Our Librem Key is a one-of-a-kind USB security token, and doesn’t just offer multi-factor authentication, it tells you if your device has been tampered with via a green or red LED.

Show your friends, your family, your co-workers, or your clients that you care about cybersecurity. Purism devices mean business, and we don’t mess around when it comes to privacy, trust, and assurance.

The post Make Today Cybersecurity Monday with Deep Discounts at Purism appeared first on Purism.

2018 has been a rough year for digital privacy, but this is the home stretch. Many shoppers will be looking for retail therapy this holiday season, scanning retail shelves and storefronts across the Web. When the shopping’s over, and the presents are opened, what will you have given your friends and loved ones? Will you have saddled them with spying “smart home” appliances, mobile app trackers, and eavesdropping speakers?

Tech doesn’t have to give people the agita of home surveillance—give the gift of privacy this holiday season. All Purism laptops will be on sale from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. And you can even pay with monthly installments now!

Why support Purism? To start, it’s a Social Purpose Corporation dedicated to privacy, security, and freedom. Your digital rights come before the interests of investors, and we have a strong commitment to technology that doesn’t spy on you, track you, or expose you to malware and viruses. When you buy Purism devices, you get:

• hardware features built for your privacy such as physical kill switches for the webcam, microphone, bluetooth, and WiFi;
• the benefit of secure and verifiable software, from the moment you boot your device to the time you spend in your Web browser;
• an economic vote signalling demand for security, privacy and freedom, supporting our R&D efforts. Indeed, you are not just buying hardware: the margins we make on hardware sales are what pays our team of 30+ people to do software, firmware and hardware enablement work around coreboot, PureOS, the Librem 5 phone platform, and services and support.

Our Librem line of laptops ship with PureOS, an operating system that meets the high standards of the Free Software Foundation’s endorsement, and coreboot as a replacement for proprietary BIOSes. The Librem 5 smartphone will ship with it too, raising the bar for private and secure mobile devices worldwide and challenging Apple and Google to meet that standard.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook was deriding Facebook for it’s dismal privacy record, he said Apple was “not going to traffic in your personal life” and that privacy is a “human right” and a “civil liberty”. At Purism we agree with this sentiment, but we also ask Apple to take a long look in the mirror. Macbooks contain a “security” microchip that contains secret, unverifiable, proprietary code. The T2 chip not only means the “Hey Siri” voice assistant is always listening, it can also brick your Mac if you don’t follow Apple’s repair rules.

iPhones, it turns out, are just as bad as Google’s Android when it comes to tracking you. In one experiment, an iPhone was found to be making contact hundreds of times with Apple’s servers and third-parties, while the user was sleeping and the phone was “inactive”. Worse, Apple invented the iBeacon standard that is now used worldwide to track the movements and proximity of users to each other, to smart digital signs, and to products in malls and grocery stores. Though Apple has been able to dodge privacy criticisms with hand-waving and clever marketing, Tim Cook was on the defensive this week when asked about the company’s relationship with Google.

In 2018, the world has had to face the reality that surveillance tech tries to track and monetize our every move. Make room for Purism on your shopping list and you make a change for 2019, distancing yourself from the data merchants watching everyone, even in their sleep.

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