Internet privacy is becoming a growing concern as our digital habits are increasingly tracked.
It’s an issue that has been in the headlines for Chelsea Manning, the activist best known for the whistleblower who disclosed nearly 750,000 classified — and classified but sensitive — documents related to military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks.
Manning spoke on Southwest on Sunday, discussing privacy and his latest venture as a security consultant at Nym Technologies, a Switzerland-based company that specializes in preventing governments and corporations from tracking people online. During the session, he discussed privacy technology with Harry Halpin, CEO of Nym.
Manning argued that because our online data is increasingly being collected by companies including Google and the United States, as well as foreign governments including China and Russia, digital privacy will require rethinking and rebuilding the internet’s infrastructure.
“We’re going to have to rethink … how we communicate every day, because it’s not working,” Manning said. “We provide a lot of information automatically.”
He said it’s unfair to expect the average person to look after their online privacy, especially since it’s becoming increasingly difficult to avoid being tracked even when using virtual private networks.
“I struggle with digital security every day. I use TikTok, I use Instagram, and I’m an expert at this,” Manning said. “We can’t expect the average person with no technical background to be a master at protecting your information and protecting your information.”
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How does Manning’s background affect his views?
Manning was convicted by military court in 2013 of violating the Espionage Act, among other charges, after leaking documents to the WikiLeaks reporting platform. The former Army soldier and intelligence analyst was jailed in 2010, but was released in 2017 after President Barack Obama commuted his sentence. He also wrote a memoir recently, “README.txt.”
Since his release from prison, Manning said he has been “forward thinking” on issues related to technology, privacy and surveillance. He said his outlook on the future begins with his past experiences including his arrest, other life events and characteristics, including being a young homeless person in Chicago, being an avid and professional sportsman and a person who likes to show off. themselves on social media.
“Having a background and taking in a lot of experience and hard times, including being in prison and dealing with the consequences of exposing things to the world, allows me to have the insight to think about how we move forward,” said Manning.
Manning and Halprin talked about Nym software, which specializes in encryption and provides users with an infrastructure for messaging platforms, web browsers and other software applications that allow them to encrypt and send personal data and their data privately across the Internet. Encryption, a type of technology used by apps like Signal, refers to a process that hides information to make it unreadable without authorization.
“There are more companies than ever before that can now have what I consider God’s eye, to look down and see every packet (of data) that goes through the Internet itself,” Halpin said.
Are our devices ‘listening’ to us?
Manning said the methods used to track people online have also become cheaper and easier, and as a result people in the 1990s had more private conversations than anyone today, regardless of whether the conservation was done over the phone.
Manning talked about the possibly familiar feeling that our things are “listening” to us when we see an ad for something we discussed, or just thought about earlier that day. Manning said that in fact, past observations and data have taught companies through our metadata what we like and what random product we might click on at 2 in the morning.
“We’re actually leaving this huge snail trail everywhere we go of metadata, and there’s nothing you can do about it even if you don’t have a phone or a computer,” Manning said. “People are incredibly predictable. … Just from a data point of view, it’s shocking how close, 90, 95% close, these algorithms can be. “
Manning has long been thinking about Internet privacy, even in prison, where he continued to work on cryptography, a data protection term that refers to technology that can ensure some level or complete anonymity. Cryptographers, Manning thought of himself, write or break the encryption code.
“We were shocked, but surprised, when we saw that in prison he came up with a proposal to defeat online surveillance to preserve our privacy,” Halpin said.
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How does Manning believe cryptography can help?
Manning views cryptography as a common man’s approach, and especially vulnerable people who do not have a technical background, can protect their privacy and argue that we need more privacy tools, hardware and software to keep people safe online. He said they need to be fast, cheap and easy to operate.
Emerging technologies including blockchain and cryptocurrency also rely on cryptology. This includes Nym, which is a segment that has been able to grow thanks to cryptocurrency – Digital assets that can be used to make online payments. Nym has its own currency, the NYM token. The name of the company comes from the Greek word meaning name.
But Manning is not a fan of cryptocurrency and said during a session in recent years that interest in cryptography has “taken a life of its own”.
Manning said: “Cryptography is what I really like,” Manning said. and scandals.”
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How can world events affect digital privacy?
Manning said he is deeply concerned about the world’s events of the past few years, including the pandemic, supply chain problems, increased police presence, political tensions and the economic crisis, and what the rise of surveillance technology could mean for those problems.
“I keep having this feeling, deep inside me every time I’m on a Zoom call or I’m downloading a TikTok or when I’m stuck on my phone at 1 I’m looking for an explanation,” said Manning. “I’ve never felt more isolated in my entire life than the last few years, and I’ve been in jail.”
The investigator said he is also concerned about what this surveillance could mean for people as laws like abortion bans go into effect, certain behaviors become legal overnight, and people’s online histories can be used against them.
“Your threat model changes from being a law-abiding citizen to ‘I don’t know what I am or where I fit in’ overnight because of a change in the law,” Manning said. “It can happen to any group of people, but it happens more in small groups, and you’re actually forced as a non-technical person to defend yourself against sophisticated attacks.”
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