A known USA based hacktivist group. According to the record in Wikipedia, it was started in 1984 at the Farm Pac slaughterhouse by Grandmaster Ratte' (aka Swamp Ratte'), Franken Gibe, Sid Vicious, and three BBS SysOps

You can check their member list in their web site

Thinks of the cDc group that I have found quite interesting

• Group member Drunkfux (Jesse Dryden) is the grand nephew of Charlie Chaplin
• In 1991, the group began distributing music in the form of cassette tape albums
• In November 1994, the group claimed responsibility for giving President Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's disease, claiming to have done so in 1986 with a blowgun
• In 1995, the group declared war on the Church of Scientology stating "We believe that El Ron Hubbard [sic] is actually none other than Heinrich Himmler of the SS, who fled to Argentina and is now responsible for the stealing of babies from hospitals and raising them as 'super-soldiers' for the purpose of overthrowing the U.S. Fed. Govt. in a bloody revolution. We fear plans for a 'Fourth Reich' to be established on our home soil under the vise-like grip of oppression known as Scientology!"
• On January 7, 1999, the group joined with an international coalition of hackers to denounce a call to cyber-war against the governments of China and Iraq
• In February 2000, the group was the subject of an 11 minute documentary short titled "Disinformation".
• In February 2000, a member of the group by the code-name Mudge briefed President Bill Clinton on "Internet security".
• In 2003 the tool created by the group by the name of Six/Four System became the first product of a hacker group to receive approval from the United States Department of Commerce for export of strong encryption
• Member by the name of "Psychedelic Warlord" is congressman Beto O'Rourke, an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, party's nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2018, candidate for the presidential nomination in 2020, and the party's nominee for the 2022 Texas gubernatorial election.

Do they have a political affiliation?

From the previous section we could at least assume that they sympathize with the USA Democratic party, they supported President Bill Clinton and claimed responsibility for doing serious harm to President Ronald Reagan, I could not find any information if the government opened an investigation about this allegation or not.

Their latest contribution?

Recently, they have developed an application framework by the name of Veilid, described as "like TOR" but for apps.

This application framework, if adopted by many developers will improve privacy by default for applications developed under that framework. The web site claim that it is open source

You can review the information and project at the web site: VEILID

In the Web site the group describe it as follows:

"Veilid allows anyone to build a distributed, private app. Veilid gives users the privacy to opt out of data collection and online tracking. Veilid is being built with user experience, privacy, and safety as our top priorities. It is open source and available to everyone to use and build upon."

"Veilid goes above and beyond existing privacy technologies and has the potential to completely change the way people use the Internet. Veilid has no profit motive, which puts us in a unique position to promote ideals without the compromise of capitalism."

Summary

Veilid seems to be exactly what is needed at the moment to bring privacy to the masses, even though TOR is doing a very good job and with the improved throughput its usage experience has improved, having a native privacy oriented FOSS application framework is paramount.

Most people is not technically savvy and therefore, not skilled in cyber security, they are constantly victims of cyber crime in many forms and shapes. eliminating one vector of attack by making the applications to opt out of data collection and online tracking from the get go is a step in the right direction, the question is, Would developers in general use the framework? Considering the ads will not be a possible source of income if the framework is used, well... Time will say...

Many cyber security advisors and CEOs of companies that offer security products will tell you that the battle is lost, that, for example, if you don't buy an air gap device your private keys are not secure.... That, if you used your computer instead to write the seed words in a piece of paper and then put them in a piece of metal, you will be hacked and most probably you are doomed....

IMO and experience, it is an exaggeration...

If all the fear mongering being pedaled by the cyber security enthusiasts and experts was true, oh well, with very few exceptions, we all will be drained of our funds in banks (most neither have a decent 2FA - still working with SMS for crying out-loud...), self custody wallets, etc... Even the Bitcoin blockchain encryption will be broken by "quantum computers"... oh and AI will be used by hackers to hack you as well... Just ignore the noise...

The unpopular opinion

IMO, basic IT hygiene is enough to keep the malware, viruses and therefore, the cyber criminals away.

And the tools they tell you that are not enough and therefore, you are powerless, actually are quite helpful, keep using them, firewalls, VPNs, TOR, Linux Whirpool, etc.

Sugestions

Do your homework, acquiring cyber security skills needs reading, get on it, few tips:

1. Learn how to verify a software security key or SHA256 before running it in your laptop or mobile if an apk. If on Microsoft, if the software you want to install does not have a .msi version (already signed by Microsoft), the .exe extension file needs to be verified, learn how, this is paramount, no matter the application, same with Linux. If the app does not offer it, do not install it, contact the developer and demand it, if no dice, forget it, look for an alternative.
2. Use a VPN on your home router, yes, even if you acquire cyber security knowledge and apply it to your mobile and laptop, if you do not live alone, every other member of your family is a weak link that can affect you. Acquire a router that supports a VPN that does not require to know your identity to pay for the service and accepts Bitcoin as payment (otherwise do not use it, no matter how good you think it is, if free avoid, you are the product and therefore, you are better without one that with one free). As an additional measure, keep your laptop, PC and mobile with another VPN, a different service, you will be with a double VPN while at home and with one while in the road. In the past the throughput will be considerably reduced to a point of being too slow, nowadays, you will be fine.
3. Use a router with a decent firewall and advertising guard like features, Adguard or Pi-Hole (learn to configure and to add community supported lists) , that will keep your home browsing experience safer and faster.
4. If you do banking and Bitcoin with your mobile phone, consider having two mobiles, one left at home secured. Carry with you a mobile for your social needs and small payments in fiat or Bitcoin, if you loose your phone or you get robed, you will sleep better....
5. If you insist on using debit cards instead of credit cards, keep the account with the debit card limited to your needs when you go out. A bit of a pain but do not use your savings account, if you lose the wallet you are screwed and there is no recurse with a debit card.... (or use credit cards and you have the option to recover the funds in case is needed)
6. If you have stacked a considerable amount in Bitcoin and want to be sufficiently safe, consider an air gap seed signer, if you do not trust yourself, consider a service with no KYC, contrary to what many believe, there are some, recently I learn that CASA is one of them, probably there are others, do your homework. You keep one or two private keys and the company keeps another one, to remove the funds you need 2 of 3 and it has built in time locks you can set up.
7. Avoid Microsoft and Google and Apple clouds, those are honey pots often targeted, if they get hacked the companies most probably will neither inform the clients or if they do it would be much after the incident, use other private services highly encrypted end to end, preferably FOSS, and do not upload your data unencrypted, yes, encrypt it before uploading if it is valuable information, it is a backup of data and you want it safe, if it is not in your hands, best to encrypt it, even if the company claim it is E2E encrypted, you can't be sure....

Summary

Each person is different, you need to sleep good at night knowing your cyber security is sufficient and therefore your data and funds are safe. Do the homework, read, study, acquire the skills and tools and use them properly, cyber security is not convenient, but in the age of information, it is a must to protect your family and your wealth.

If you like my work and would like to support me:

"Files" by Google added a "feature"... "Smart Search", you can toggle it to OFF and it is highly recommended to do so.

Toggle the Smart Search to OFF, otherwise, google will search and index every picture, video and document in your device, no exceptions, anything you have ever photographed and you forgot, any document you have downloaded or article, etc...

How this could affect you?

Google is actively combating child abuse and therefore it has built in its "AI" a very aggressive algorithm searching of material that "IT THINKS" is related, therefore the following content could be flagged:

• Pictures of you and your children in the beach
• Pictures or videos which are innocent in nature but the "AI" "thinks" are not
• Articles you may have save for research to write your next essay that have links to flagged information or sites

The results:

• Your google account will be canceled
• You will be flagged as a criminal across the digital world

You think this is non sense? Think again:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/technology/google-surveillance-toddler-photo.html

How to switch it off:

1. Open files by Google
2. Tap on Menu -> Settings
3. Turn OFF Smart Search

But you can do more for your privacy and the security of your family

1. Stop using google apps, if possible get rid off of Google OS and use Graphene OS
2. Go to Settings -> Apps
3. Search for Files by Google
4. Unistall the app, if you can't disable it
5. Keep doing that with most Google apps that are not a must if you have not switched already to GrapheneOS

Remember, Google keeps advocating for privacy, but as many others have pointed out repeatedly, they are the first ones lobbying for the removal of your privacy by regulation and draconian laws, their hypocrisy knows no limits

Recommendation:

I would assume you have installed F-Droid in your android, or Obtainium if you are more advanced, if so, consider "Simple File Manager Pro" by Tibor Kaputa, this dev has a suite of apps that are basic needs and the best feature in my opinion is that not one of his apps connect to the internet, contacts, gallery, files, phone, etc.

Note
As most people, we all love the convenience of technology, it makes our lives easier, however, our safety and our family safety should go first, between technology being miss-used and abused by corporations and cyber-criminals data mining and checking for easy targets to attack for profit, we need to keep our guard up. Learning is key, resist the use of new tech if you do not understand the privacy trade offs, no matter how appealing and convenient it looks like. .

Please leave your comments with your favorite FOSS Files app!

IMO and experience, it is an exaggeration...

If all the fear mongering being pedaled by the cyber security enthusiasts and experts was true, oh well, with very few exceptions, we all will be drained of our funds in banks (most neither have a decent 2FA - still working with SMS for crying out-loud...), self custody wallets, etc... Even the Bitcoin blockchain encryption will be broken by "quantum computers"... oh and AI will be used by hackers to hack you as well... Just ignore the noise...

The truth is that basic IT hygiene is enough to keep the malware, viruses and therefore, the cyber criminals away.

And the tools they tell you that are not enough and therefore you are powerless actually are quite helpful, keep using them, firewalls, VPNs, TOR, Linux Whirpool, etc.

My suggestion, do your homework, acquiring cyber security skills needs reading, get on it, few tips:

a. Learn how to verify a software security key or SHA256 before running it in your laptop or mobile if an apk. If on Microsoft, if the software you want to install does not have a .msi version (already signed by Microsoft), the .exe extension file needs to be verified, learn how, this is paramount, no matter the application, same with Linux. If the app does not offer it, do not install it, contact the developer and demand it, if no dice, forget it, look for an alternative.

b. Use a VPN on your home router, yes, even if you acquire cyber security knowledge and apply it to your mobile and laptop, if you do not live alone, every other member of your family is a weak link that can affect you. Acquire a router that supports a VPN that does not require to know your identity to pay for the service and accepts Bitcoin as payment (otherwise do not use it, no matter how good you think it is, if free avoid, you are the product and therefore, you are better without one that with one free). As an additional measure, keep your laptop, PC and mobile with another VPN, a different service, you will be with a double VPN while at home and with one while in the road. In the past the throughput will be considerably reduced to a point of being too slow, nowadays, you will be fine.

c. Use a router with a decent firewall and advertising guard like features, Adguard or Pi-Hole (learn to configure and to add community supported lists) , that will keep your home browsing experience safer and faster.

d. If you do banking and Bitcoin with your mobile phone, consider having two mobiles, one left at home secured. Carry with you a mobile for your social needs and small payments in fiat or Bitcoin, if you loose your phone or you get robed, you will sleep better....

e. If you insist on using debit cards instead of credit cards, keep the account with the debit card limited to your needs when you go out. A bit of a pain but do not use your savings account, if you lose the wallet you are screwed and there is no recurse with a debit card.... (or use credit cards and you have the option to recover the funds in case is needed)

f. If you have stacked a considerable amount in Bitcoin and want to be sufficiently safe, consider an air gap seed signer, if you do not trust yourself, consider a service with no KYC, contrary to what many believe, there are some, recently I learn that CASA is one of them, probably there are others, do your homework. You keep one or two private keys and the company keeps another one, to remove the funds you need 2 of 3 and it has built in time locks you can set up.

g. Avoid Microsoft and Google and Apple clouds, those are honey pots often targeted, if they get hacked the companies most probably will neither inform the clients or if they do it would be much after the incident, use other private services highly encrypted end to end, preferably FOSS, and do not upload your data unencrypted, yes, encrypt it before uploading if it is valuable information, it is a backup of data and you want it safe, if it is not in your hands, best to encrypt it, even if the company claim it is E2E encrypted, you can't be sure....

Each person is different, you need to sleep good at night knowing your cyber security is sufficient and therefore your data and funds are safe.

Fix the Money, fix the World

Use Bitcoin, be Unconfiscatable

Use Nostr, be Uncensorable

#Bitcoin

#LN ⚡

#ARK ⚡