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Too late, we already have cloud-connected indoor security cameras from Amazon. The NSA is investigating a recent protest that happened in your area, wonder if

Too late, we already have cloud-connected indoor security cameras from Amazon. The NSA is investigating a recent protest that happened in your area, wonder if they'd be interested in taking a peek at your footage? But really, it's not made things much worse. We already happily carry tracking devices everywhere with us without any idea what's running on them.

NoZebra120vClip 4y ago
It took me a long time to grasp and take onboard that attack surface starts with your installed base of apps. I whittled my Ubuntu apps down to that which I use on a regular basis, and I aggressively uninstalled packages that were unused or seemed weird or just unnecessary to me. The same goes for my Windows machine and my phone. Frankly my phone's 32GB is clogged already and I can't install all the apps I want. I may not really know "what" is running on it, but I have fairly good ideas about "who" is running on it, and that can count for a lot. If I don't install any janky games from unknown publishers, and I stick with truly utilitarian, name-brand stuff, I can at least avoid most supply-chain based attacks, and hopefully some of the jankier data Hoovers. There are some activities I do when I have to seriously consider setting my phone aside, or at least removing sdcard+SIM for safety from whatever threat actors might turn the phone against me or wrest it from my possession. I do not yet rely on my phone for payments and transit fares, so I can easily get around town without it (even if it pains me not to have real-time tracking and maps and emergency phone at the ready.) I think if you know who's running on your systems, that's half the battle. Don't invite strangers into your home, don't install weird apps on anything anywhere. Make sure your family knows too. Keep a tidy firewall and DNS-based adblocks. Due diligence goes a long way. Make your peace with threat actors who are too powerful for you to resist, and just live your life as if they're already watching.

NoZebra120vClip 4y ago

It took me a long time to grasp and take onboard that attack surface starts with your installed base of apps. I whittled my Ubuntu apps down to that which I use on a regular basis, and I aggressively uninstalled packages that were unused or seemed weird or just unnecessary to me. The same goes for my Windows machine and my phone. Frankly my phone's 32GB is clogged already and I can't install all the apps I want. I may not really know "what" is running on it, but I have fairly good ideas about "who" is running on it, and that can count for a lot. If I don't install any janky games from unknown publishers, and I stick with truly utilitarian, name-brand stuff, I can at least avoid most supply-chain based attacks, and hopefully some of the jankier data Hoovers. There are some activities I do when I have to seriously consider setting my phone aside, or at least removing sdcard+SIM for safety from whatever threat actors might turn the phone against me or wrest it from my possession. I do not yet rely on my phone for payments and transit fares, so I can easily get around town without it (even if it pains me not to have real-time tracking and maps and emergency phone at the ready.) I think if you know who's running on your systems, that's half the battle. Don't invite strangers into your home, don't install weird apps on anything anywhere. Make sure your family knows too. Keep a tidy firewall and DNS-based adblocks. Due diligence goes a long way. Make your peace with threat actors who are too powerful for you to resist, and just live your life as if they're already watching.