Tech Learning Collective

Technology education for radical organizers and revolutionary communities.

  • May 21, 2022 1:30 PM (-0400) May 21, 2022 3:00 PM
  • Remote
  • Status: CONFIRMED

Tickets are no longer available for this event.

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Event description

This beginner-friendly introduction to digital safety will cut through the fear, uncertainty, and doubt generated by the frenetic news cycle and the latest Internet privacy listicle, and offer an opportunity to ask your most pressing online privacy and digital security questions. By learning about foundational frameworks that cybersecurity professionals use to assess risk and safety such as the CIA triad and the three states of data, you’ll build an understanding of information security from first principles to advanced techniques. By the end of this workshop, you will be able to apply these building blocks to anything and everything you do online, or in the streets.

Workshop Description

Learning how to stay safe online is on many people’s minds, but how do you start this process? With so many tools and suggestions from “experts,” how do you know which tool to use, when, and in what situation? Do you really need a VPN? (And what even is that?) What are the tools you really should use, and which tools aren’t worth it? Moreover, without being a cybersecurity expert yourself, how do you learn to sniff out the useful stuff from the placebos?

This beginner’s workshop taught by the Tech Learning Collective’s cybersecurity trainers offers a simple framework anyone can use to understand what risks they might face and how to protect themselves from those risks. Developed and maintained by the Anarcho-Tech NYC Collective, an independent cybersecurity research group that provides digital security services to anti-fascist groups in New York City, this framework now forms the basis of many digital safety workshops. It is a simple three-by-three grid in which you can place both yourself and your online safety concerns by answering a few intuitive questions like “How likely is it that I will be targeted?” and “How many resources (money, people, etcetera) does my attacker have?”

Although there are many good and free tools available, most people only need to use a few basic ones: a secure messaging application (like Signal), a password manager (like KeePass or Bitwarden, and a few of the built-in features of their existing computers, like the full-disk encryption software available for free on every modern laptop and smartphone. This short, calming introduction to digital safety cuts through the fear, uncertainty, and doubt generated by the frenetic news cycle and the latest Internet privacy listicle. You’ll leave this workshop with a security plan in place, and a much clearer picture of the first few steps you should take to protect yourself and your information both online and offline.

As this is a remote/online-only event, there is no physical class space, but attendance is still limited to 15 students, so purchase your ticket now to reserve your spot.

To participate in our webinars, you will need access to a modern Web browser such as an up-to-date copy of Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. You will also need a reliable Internet connection. We recommend disabling Wi-Fi and plugging your computer in to a hard-wired Ethernet network cable for the duration of the webinar, if possible.

If you would like to share your video screen or appear on camera, you will need to have and activate your own camera, such as the one built-in to many modern laptops. Similarly, to speak with the rest of the webinar participants, you will need a microphone. If you do choose to activate your microphone, we ask that you please plug in headphones/ear buds or use a headset in order to help reduce audio feedback loops that can degrade the webinar experience for other participants.

Please refer to our workshops and webinars FAQ for additional tips and advice before you join the video conference.

As with all Tech Learning Collective events, racism, queerphobia, transphobia, sexism, “brogrammer,” “manarchist,” or any kind of similarly awful behavior will result in immediate removal from class without a refund. Please refer to our lightweight social rules for details on our strictly enforced no-tolerance policy against bigotry of any kind.

About Tech Learning Collective

Tech Learning Collective is an apprenticeship-based technology school that trains politically self-motivated individuals in the arts of hypermedia, Information Technology, and radical political practice. We offer unparalleled free, by-donation, and low-cost computer classes on topics ranging from fundamental computer literacy to the same offensive computer hacking techniques used by national intelligence agencies and military powers (cyber armies). For more information and to enroll, visit TechLearningCollective.com.

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