The Madness Debate (or How I Got Locked Out of My Computer)

by Thomas Sermpinis (a.k.a. Cr0wTom)

A couple of months ago, I purchased a new laptop from a Chinese manufacturer (because of a great price/performance ratio).  I was (and still am) really excited about it and, due to my privacy tickling self, I immediately installed a new copy of Windows and encrypted my whole drive with BitLocker (Microsoft's solution to drive encryption).  Of course, because all of this has to be offline in order to be secure (at least in my mind), I printed the decryption key provided by BitLocker on a sheet of paper.  But no, this was not enough, so I encrypted the plain text with an encryption cipher in order to not be easily accessed if found by a third-party.  And this was still not enough, so I hid it somewhere in the house where no one should have access to it.

The Privacy-Oriented Side

I have nothing to hide!  It is true, but at the same time I value my privacy a lot.  I want to have a life that is not invaded by anyone I don't want to.  I want to be free, communicate with people with ease and with the help of the magic world of technology, but without anyone in the middle trying to snoop into my personal life.  It is not a matter of what you must hide, but whether everyone needs to know.

In this world of continuous technology advancements, it is really difficult for an individual to keep up with all the vulnerabilities, encryption techniques, and malicious attacks.  But I am in a privileged position, where I have the ability to follow stuff like that and keep up with the technology.  I use all the high-end techniques and security measures that I can think of in order to be secure and keep my privacy.  I am in a continuous search for the most secure ways to implement things in my life, and even when I have reached the point where I have followed all the good practices, I still don't feel completely secure.  I still cannot enjoy my privacy.  I am a lunatic trying to persuade himself that someone is always watching.  Because if you believe otherwise in this centralized world, you have been fooled by the big corporations that offer their services for free.

The Everyday Person's Side

For the everyday person, things are simpler.  They "keep calm" and use whatever secure software or service they are supplied with and use it without any headaches.  Most of them have the illusion of privacy, whereas others don't even care about their privacy.  They keep their passwords on sticky notes on their work screen and use Windows XP.  But at the same time, if you ask them to give you their phone unlocked, a big percentage will refuse.  These people keep all of their data on Google Drive and iCloud.  They don't care about passwords or worry about their data becoming obsolete.  They don't care about two-factor authentication and losing their ability to access their account or their personal computer.  And this is not bad.

Yes, you heard it.

I may believe in doing everything you can to maintain privacy, but this can drive you crazy, and in my case resulted in losing all my data.  Trusting a company, believing that an encryption algorithm is not backdoored by NSA, and feeling secure about the Windows Defender latest update are some really simple and yet logical moves to do.

The Conversation

I do not believe that there is a middle stage in the privacy situation.  And even if someone lives in this stage, they will be dragged to one of the extreme stages sooner or later.  I did not write this article to force you to follow my stand on the subject, but to share my experience, list the positions in the matter, and start a conversation - between you and your boss, your friend, your mom, or even your IT teacher who uses Android 2.3 in an open Wi-Fi network.  Share your opinion, and follow your stand, but always value your privacy.