What is digital self-defense?

What is the “Self Defense BaseCamp”?

The Self Defense BaseCamp is an introduction to defending privacy and IT security. It is suitable for all people and families with a normal everyday Internet, work or school life. Used consistently, it is a good start to protect you from cybercrime, mass surveillance by internet corporations and overly curious investigative authorities.

The BaseCamp stands for a new beginning. A gradual further development and a rethinking towards “Less, with more privacy, quality of life and security”. Also an understanding of what is happening to our world right now and why it is important to stand up for our privacy. and to fight for it just as much as for our environment and nature conservation.

And even though I describe many technical concepts and applications in the “Privacy Toolbox” section, for me it’s not just a collection of apps that you can quickly install. Because what should happen step by step to the graduate of the BaseCamp is an understanding of:

• Data economy,
• the importance of secure encryption (without a backdoor for investigative authorities),
• the secure assessment of trustworthy providers of technology, software and services,
• the advantages of crowd-funded and open source applications,
• the superiority of decentralized (so-called federated or deplatforming) solutions and their advantages for the user and his privacy compared to central cloud-based offers.

In principle, my Self Defense BaseCamp is:

• a gradual adjustment of one’s own behavior,
• the implementation of the proposed concepts and behaviors,
• a gradual adaptation of the applications, operating systems and devices used.

What’s next after the Self Defense BaseCamp?

If you feel comfortable with what you have learned in BaseCamp, if you have internalized it, you can confidently approach the extended topics presented in Advanced Self Defense .

Advanced Self Defense is aimed at people with a higher risk of being threatened, such as activists, journalists, companies, just anyone who cares or needs it. It is the 2nd stage after the BaseCamp and will take place in the CloudPirat Academy.

The lessons of the BaseCamp

(1) Changing habits and usage patterns

(2) Data economy

(3) Strong Passwords & Passphrases

(4) Privacy Toolbox

• the right password manager,
• trusted Virtual Private Networks (VPN) – that protect your identity,
• Internet browser that protects you instead of tracking you,
• Search engines that respect your privacy,
• Instant Messenger – encrypted communication without tracking,
• secure provider for email, contacts and calendar,
• secure cloud storage,
• alternative and trustworthy office applications,
• offline GPS Navigation
• encrypted and secure video conferencing

(5) Secure and private on computer and cell phone

• security and privacy for Windows, macOS and Linux
• safe handling of cell phones
• iPhone – important settings for more privacy
• GrapheneOS – private and secure without Google

(6) Self-liberation – logging out of Google, Facebook, Instagram and Co.