I’m a Ham or am I? When to be noticed and when to be unnoticed, and much much more!

Some ideas on being ready and when to notice/unnoticed to borrow from:

• It is best to be prepared – remember Noah built the ark before the flood.
• Someday you may be unexpectedly or unavoidably exposed and/or exploited by malignant actors with nefarious intentions.
• Electronically you may need digital protection (including physical protection of equipment), identity management, and an understanding & control of your online & on-air signatures.
• You may need to understand the tracking and fingerprinting of both digital & radio devices, along with countermeasures to limit your exposure.

Some things as radio amateurs we need to understand are:

• The differences between Security, Privacy, and Anonymity
• Profile modeling to identify your Security, Privacy, and Anonymity exposures
• How to mitigate Security, Privacy, and Anonymity vulnerabilities
• Compartmentalization to reduce the being exploited both the digital/radio and physical aspects
• Utilize countermeasures to maintain your Security, Privacy, and Anonymity
• Shield your radio station(s) from public exposure
• What aspect of your homes, vehicles, and other assets are vulnerable from public exposure
• Mitigation cell phone surveillance and online tracking capabilities – and when they are useful
• Securing both your data at rest and your data in motion from exploitation
• Apply misinformation and disinformation techniques to mask your true identity when appropriate
• How you can change your habits to support your personal privacy and anonymity
• What your exposure might mean to your family
• If you involve yourself in Emcomm what it means for your (and your family’s) Security, Privacy, and Anonymity
• Will you be White-listed, Black-list or Grey-listed through Emcomm
• If you involve yourself in Freecom type activities what it means for your (and your family’s) Security, Privacy, and Anonymity
• If you have other EmGov roles how do they affect your Emcomm/Freecom and what does the package of involvement mean to your & your family’s Security, Privacy, and Anonymity
• The importance of back up gear, fall back knowledge and reserve resources
• When you might need to drop Emcomm, Freecom, or EmGov activities to protect your family or even just yourself

(Note:  Some of this list was ‘borrowed’ from a course outline a friend emailed to me, which I paraphrased as the course while very much focused to the non-amateur has a lot of good syllabus points. Thank you to the unknown author who helped me flesh these ideas out with their work!)

Over the winter I’ll be fleshing out parts of these lists in a “Thinking Ahead” series of posts.  The focus will be largely from a radio amateur viewpoint.  Comments very much welcome and appreciated!

73

Steve
K9ZW