“If your data is not private, you are not in control of it. If you are not in control of your data, someone else will be, and you are now at their mercy.” Cyber Sovereignty
I’ve Nothing To Hide
The number one statement I get from the average Joe or Jane who are unconcerned with their technical security, is “I have nothing to hide”. If that statement were true, than why are services like social media platforms free? It’s because your data is sellable. When typing in your personal details it connects some statistical analysis for top interested buyers with very big pockets. First they learn your age demographic, schools attended, interests, friend and familial connections, maiden names, marriage status, frequented locations, job history, voting habits, political views, “allegiances” with certain groups, media preferences, patterns of behaviour from being online, buying habits, view history, private messaging, history of pictures shared, facial recognition filters used, how fast you click on a particular topic and react to it, are all pieces of information big tech companies are in the business of selling without disclosure. It’s packaged to look like you are using a blank space on the internet, who is a unique individual with a voice, with real life moments to share with loved ones, and lets you connect to a wider community online and locally. Maybe you can see how some entities can use that information to control what you see, introduce what you should buy into, and mark you in a particular category of malleable or not. Your privacy matters, because if you aren’t concerned about controlling it, someone else will pick it up and control you.
There is another predator in the waters, and they surf around looking to prey on the perfect “open book” too. Hackers and scammers only need a few pieces of information to get into your online wallet, emails, business pages, and other platforms to hold for ransom costing you in your real life. We’ve seen this with online accounts getting hacked, suspicious emails, and even with AI. A relevant example with AI, is where scammers use AI voice cloning to be used on someone’s relatives, mimicking an “endangered needy relative”, to give scammers your money. It’s no wonder how being online and the selling of our information has led to some of these issues we see today. Does that mean we shouldn’t be online? No, I just think we should learn how to “lock up with good locks on the doors” and be aware of what we leave “out in the open for anyone to see”.
Leaving The Door Unlocked
There is a naivety to leaving the door unlocked, don’t you think? This goes for having no password on your devices too. If not, you might believe in the honour system, that people are generally good neighbors, and not looking for trouble typically. Maybe for that reason, people need to believe they are safe because dwelling on paranoia disrupts peace and sounds conspiratory, which I can sympathize with because we shouldn’t live in fear. However, it is still irresponsible to be negligent with your information, because as we established, knowing about you is actually sellable data, that doesn’t benefit you in its sale but can be used against you instead. When someone has been robbed, it always comes as a shock especially to those only wanting to be openly kind. It doesn’t pay to be blissfully ignorant about your privacy, nor blindly trusting. Your privacy should be considered a precious commodity, that some people want you to leave lying around for their picking.
Handing The Keys Out
One way individuals and companies ease you into revealing your personal information is by requiring you to jump through hoops to receive something from them. They ask you for your address, email, full name, and/or number, and if you don’t divulge the information they look at you strangely like “Why wouldn’t you share?” which is another tactic to make you see it their way. We all deep down want to be liked, follow the rules to some extent, not be contrary, and trust the business “professionals” (like they know something you don’t). When you learn how to think for your own interests, like protecting your personal data, you can turn to those companies or individuals and give them the quizzical brow and ask “Why do you need to know that?”. You don’t have to be rude when refusing to share either, but you do need to possess an inner confidence that believes your private information is valuable and see that people are asking you to give it up free of charge.
Wisdom Locks The Door
Only those who have seen crime know the wisdom of locking up well, and it can be done without being chronically afraid that someone is out to get you. Wisdom knows that things could happen, and plans accordingly. Fear typically fills the mind and soul, and it can really cripple a person with worry, that could spill into every area of their life, especially their health. I advocate for wisdom, that knows and respects the risks, to better battle for their domain, to rule and not be ruled. It isn’t helpful to be so afraid you can’t live in our world today either.
Change The Locks
The goal is to rule over your tech and your data, protecting what matters most, and not have an open house with glass for walls. You can be sovereign, like a king or queen over their domain, without apology, because you see your assets as valuable. Your data is not for sale without your permission, granted you remember to stop handing out the keys or clicking on email links. Your data usually extends to those around you too, so help your friends and family change their locks and stop posting public meet ups on social platform posts for all eyes to see. The truth is you do have something to hide, for good reasons, and it’s normal to take a few extra steps to get behind a sure closed and locked door. Make your household a fortress, a protected dominion that is considered an act of war when tresspassed against. Here at Cyber Sovereignty, we are aiming to train the next generation, their nations after them, and all allies, to combat information mining tactics out for blood. It’s time to build on wisdom that braves the world around us. Time to change all the locks.
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