The NSA? Not Even Scared

In the midst of all of the news surrounding America’s favorite buzz words, “NSA,” “Snowden,” and “privacy,” The Guardian posted a very brief article that had a title almost too good to be true: “NSAsurveillance: A guide to staying secure.”

For me, stumbling across this article was a godsend. “Cool,” I thought, “Now I can protect myself against the ‘bad guys’!” While most of the article is merely a summation of the current situation regarding the NSA (published a week ago), there was a five-number list at the end of the article preceded by the following by the author:

“With all this in mind, I have five pieces of advice:”

Echoing the common claim by many that encryption is key, the author had a host of other programs and services to download and utilize within his short list. The first bullet point, in fact, is something I’ve never heard of until I read the article. Encouraging readers to use Tor, freeware that helps make users anonymous while on networks, the author made a pretty obvious but fascinating point (to me): “Yes, the NSA targets Tor users, but it’s work for them. The less obvious you are, the safer you are.”

Prior to encountering this article, I could not care less whether the NSA, CIA, or Team Rocket was following my data. Why, last year, having read The Daily You for my final paper, a book about privacy in the advertising industry, I didn’t mind being profiled and sold to other advertising agencies who were eager to nab people that fit a certain profile I happened to fall under. This indifference was most likely due to the enormous burden I imagined security being to establish.

Okay, so I guess I’ll just install Tor! Awesome. So private. Onto the next step!

“Encrypt your communications… [I]t’s true that the NSA targets encrypted connections… [but] you’re much better protected than if you communicate in the clear.”

Hm, “much better protected”; I understand that foolproof security is an imaginary entity, but the first two items on this list encourage me to do this, warn me that I’ll still be in the cross-fire anyway, and tell me to, essentially, hope for the best. To accentuate the concern I had over this pattern that began to form, and without going over each point in-depth, the next piece of advice has to be quoted:

“Assume that while your computer can be compromised, it would take work and risk on the part of the NSA – so it probably isn’t.”

Maybe it’s just me, a total n00b with respect to the current NSA scenario, but the preceding quote really downplays what seems to be such a big deal. Yes, I understand this doesn’t apply to everything, but the fact that some simple programs and software can provide enough of a hindrance to repel the NSA, to perhaps my computer at least, is really surreal. To think that, hypothetically, the way to deal with the NSA is the same way my evil twin brother, Krankie, hypothetically, deals with torrenting (by running an IP address filtering program) is both amazing and fascinating.

NSA, please.

The list ends with general tips on being aware of commercial software, as it’s probably rigged with a nice backend, and to use compatible software to doubly protect one’s self. All of these pieces of advice, albeit helpful, are rooted in common sense -- common sense. The key to defeating the NSA, somewhat, is not thousands of dollars in encryption, air-gapped computers, or a Fire Flower, but the installation of minimal free software.

Trust me, I don't meant to sound mocking. This is a serious issue. But from The Guardian's framing of the combative measures that could be taken, and how simple they are, it isn't scary at all. Yes, there's always a chance. Yes, if they really wanted to, the NSA could easily find what they want out. But the bottom line is as follows: For the majority of the population, there isn't much to be done.

But is this too much for the common people? Even I, the most indifferent in the land, will eagerly install these programs, increase my security even a bit; but with how vulnerable people are generally portrayed to be, it isn't surprising that not many know about these basic measures. And if they don't know about them, how can they take them?