Encrypting Your Life

You may already be doing some of the things mentioned in this article, but if you aren't you probably should be.

“Only the paranoid survive.” — Andy Grove

Andy Grove was a Hungarian refugee who escaped communism, studied engineering, and ultimately led the personal computer revolution as the CEO of Intel. He died earlier this year in Silicon Valley after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease.

When one of the most powerful people in the world encourages us to be paranoid, maybe we should listen.

And Grove isn’t the only powerful person urging caution. Even the director of the FBI — the same official who recently paid hackers a million dollars to unlock a shooter’s iPhone — is encouraging everyone to cover their webcams.

But you obey the law. What do you have to worry about? As the motto of the United Kingdom’s surveillance program reminds us, “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear.”

Well, law-abiding citizens do have reason to fear. They do have reasons to secure their devices, their files, and their communications with loved ones.

At the very least, you should use 2-factor authentication on your online accounts where it's available, encrypt your hard drive and phone, and use the TOR network for any web browsing that you think might be at all sensitive.