http://www.jroller.com/mindcrime/entry/time_for_the_return_of Time for the return of the Cypherpunks, Crypto-Anarchists and Techno-Libertarians? YES There's a strangely disturbing trend I've noticed over the past couple of years... all of the Cypherpunks, Crypto-Anarchists and techno-libertarians seem to have gone into hiding, or disappeared. A couple of years ago, if a story about encryption export controls hit Slashdot, these people were out in full force, making the argument that using strong encryption is a right, arguing for the right to privacy, the right to anonymity, etc. But somehow they all seem to have dropped off. At least in my (admittedly subjective) view, you see a lot less crypto-anarchist / techno-libertarian / cypherpunk types on Slashdot, Reddit, Hacker News, etc. these days. Why is that? Maybe because we thought we won a small battle somewhere along the way, got complacent and went on with our lives? Or maybe we lost so many battles that we all just gave up, packed it in and quit caring? Recently however, I've been noticing more and more issues in the news, and more things happening, that convince me that - more than ever - we need a resurgence of interest and activity from these folks. More and more our government and/or large corporations (is there a difference?) are using, or threatening to use, technology in a way that infringes our rights, or is just plain stupid, or both. Examples: From Slashdot: A story about how the Pentagon is abusing social media to generate domestic propaganda and to attempt to undermine the credibility of journalists who are investigating the Pentagon. From Slashdot: An article citing an NSA whistle-blower who reveals that the NSA is probably keeping copies of ALL email correspondence sent by anyone living in the USA. From Hacker News: Discussion of a Wired.com story about the use of biometrics at border crossings around the world From Hacker News: A mention of the DHS "pre-crime screening" technology which is currently being researched (this has so much potential for abuse it's not even funny). From Hacker News: Discussion of an EFF release about the "CISPA" bill, yet another sweeping power grab by our government. Seriously, it just never stops. And it's not going to stop anytime soon. It's up to us to help people learn to use technology to counter these actions by the Establishment, to promote awareness of the dangers of the abuse of certain technologies, to encourage discussion of our right to have private communications, to remain "presumed innocent until proven guilty", and all of those other things that are so important to our freedom as individuals. In short, it's time for a resurrection of the crypto-anarchist / techno-libertarian / cypherpunk movement and it's associated values, activities and aesthetic. Those of us who care about these issues can't just lurk in the shadows and act like nothing is happening. It's time to start telling people about public-key encryption, hosting key-signing parties, developing new technologies for bypassing Internet censorship, developing tools for bypassing State and Corporation controlled messaging channels, and taking a stand for freedom. To this end, when I'm back in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill/RTP area from this consulting gig I'm currently on, I'm going to take a stab at getting a Cypherpunk group organized and active. If you're interested in participating, please let me know. And please spread this message around widely. This stuff is too important to sit around and remain apathetic and inactive. ( Apr 22 2012, 04:42:11 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [6]