New Episode Alert EP125

Attending a protest? Check out our 5 tips!

June 18, 2020

Weekly Blaze PodcastEpisode 125June 15, 2020

5 Tips to Stay More Private and Secure During a Protest

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Hi everyone. I hope you all are staying safe healthy in these very turbulent times. In this episode I want break away from our normal news format and offer some timely tips and advice. As I'm sure you're aware, there have been many protests that have continued in the United States and all over the world recently and I've seen a lot of concern from people about how they should protect their privacy and security while protesting. So I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some tips on how you can stay more private and secure if you or someone you know is choosing to participate in a protest.

First of all, in in the United States, you have a constitutional right to peacefully protest. So whether or not you choose to do so, that is up to you. But if you do, there are certain precautions you should take given the current climate. Even if the protest you're attending is peaceful, it doesn't mean it will stay that way. And that means you could get caught up in a  situation that could affect your

even if you haven't done anything wrong. And to be honest, anything can happen! That could include being arrested, having your smartphone confiscated or stolen, having your picture taken by the media or law enforcement, being recorded on video, or even being surveilled through facial recognition technology. Now I'm not here to debate the current political climate or the reason you or someone else may want to protest. This is your decision and freedom to do so. But I do want you to strongly consider these tips and know that they can apply to anyone that is concerned about their privacy and security while protesting.

So let's get into it with my first tip and that's putting your phone in airplane mode, put it in a Faraday sleeve, or strongly consider powering it off while your protesting.  Your phone is constantly communicating with cell phone towers to transfer data, and send and receive texts and voice calls. That means your cell carrier knows who you are and any third-party, or government with access to cell tower data knows who you are as well. Not only that, state and local governments (and of course the FBI) have a history of using what are called IMSI catchers which can intercept your texts and calls. It wouldn't surprise me one bit that local governments are using IMSI catchers in hot spots where we've seen massive protests over the last few weeks. Just remember, SMS text messages and regular phone calls are not encrypted along with your location data and this could leave you vulnerable. Lastly, disable your Bluetooth and WiFi as well as these two wireless technologies can also be used to track you. Of course turning off you phone comes with a disadvantage, and that's not being able to communicate. One thing I've talked about on the show before is about your own personal threat model and how your threat model may be more relaxed than others. And that's totally OK. It's up to you to decide if keeping your cell phone on so that you can communicate with others is worth the risk of having those conversations intercepted. Now if you're going to use your smartphone during a protest for communication, you should always use an end-to-end encrypted messaging app like Signal. Don't forget that you can use Signal for more than just messages, you can make phone calls as well. That means you can keep your communications secure all with one application. And if your threat model indicates that you should be ultra-paranoid, you can buy a "burner" phone with cash using pre-paid minutes as another alternative if you do need to communicate during a protest.

This leads me to my second tip, and that's to turn off Face ID or Touch ID on your smartphone and use a strong passcode instead. The reason?

, some courts have found that you can be forced to unlock a phone with Face or Touch ID. So if you did get arrested, law enforcement can't unlock your phone by putting it up to your face or using your finger to unlock your device. Also, be aware that in the US,

and law enforcement

, even if you're under arrest.

My third tip is to

. Especially the location of surveillance cameras. Many cities are actively using facial recognition technology and are also monitoring these cameras for crimes and other related activity. Like I mentioned before, you may not be doing anything wrong but you may be in a specific group of people that are or just in the wrong time and the wrong place. And this leads me to my fourth tip which is to be careful with the clothes you wear, meaning, don't wear anything that would make you easily identifiable and cover any tattoos. Also, make sure you wear a mask. You'll most likely be wearing a mask anyway due to the global pandemic but also think about adding sunglasses to the mix which will make surveilling you that much more difficult.

My last tip is to be very careful not to share too much information on social media about your location, details about the protest, or pictures and videos you may take during the protest. Governments and law enforcement are actively monitoring social media and your tweet or Facebook post could be used against you and others. That's why you should double-check your Facebook and Twitter settings to ensure you're not sharing your location and that you're very careful what you post and say on social media. Don't forget common sense, and be safe if you do choose to exercise your right to protest.

MayMonthly ShowEpisode 100In episode 100 of our May monthly show we discuss the history of the podcast, some of the most interesting cybersecurity and privacy news and events over the years, and speak with former guest Rachel Tobac, CEO and Co-Founder of SocialProof Security, about what she's been up to and of course the David Lynch daily weather report!We also catch up with Kathleen Smith, CMO of ClearedJobs.net and CyberSecJobs.com to talk about the current cybersecurity job market, recruiting, and the one thing you need to stop doing with your resume.

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