Surveillance

Who watches the watchers? CryptoHarlem founder Matt Mitchell explains why surveillance is the enemy

CryptoHarlem founder Matt Mitchell says government and corporate surveillance and citizens’ inability to protect against it are great threats to personal security.

Technology can be one’s best friend or, in some cases, their worst enemy. For example, Meta and TikTok seamlessly connect millions of people with loved ones and strangers, and while the platforms are a great resource for finding information and communicating with others, there are valid concerns about violations of users’ privacy and the monetization and possible outright theft of users’ data.

The same can be said for surveillance and security. There is often a gift-and-a-curse style relationship, wherein the exact surveillance tools meant to keep people safe and deter crime are often used to oppress and control citizens or even ignore the criminal acts of those in power.

To explore this contentious topic in greater depth, show hosts Jonathan DeYoung and Ray Salmond invited renowned hacker and activist Matt Mitchell to the most recent episode of The Agenda podcast.

Who is watching the watchers?

When asked to share some examples of what drives his passion for hacktivism and which threats might be the most immediate for the average person, Mitchell said:

“You exist as a target of surveillance no matter what you do, right? And it might be commercial surveillance, the cookies on your browser, it might be the tracking on your phone. And normally, the incentive is financial gain, right? So, people want to sell your data to an advertiser to learn more about you so they can monetize it. Even the most failed startup is like sell this data, get out of this problem.”

To emphasize the increased danger of the surveillance threat to communities of color in the United States, Mitchell explained:

“Now, if you are a Black person or you’re in a historically Black community or a majority Black community, that surveillance includes law enforcement surveillance. It also includes private surveillance. That’s commercial surveillance. It might include the housing project you live in or the development community surveillance. And when you put it all together, there’s a 4D, like 4K, super-high-res image of your life because you’re under so many layers of surveillance that there’s almost no space that’s actually your private space.”

Mitchell said the very first thing he teaches people is that “surveillance is bad, and we need to stop it.”

When Salmond suggested that security is ultimately designed to keep citizens safe, Mitchell countered with:

“For example, let’s say you work as a tech, you have privileged access. So, only you and three other cybersecurity people or data people have access to all the sensitive keys. In the beginning, it’s used to stop abuse on the platform, but at the end, you’re using it to stalk someone you’re romantically interested, right? Because surveillance corrupts you in an insidious way, kind of like the One Ring.”

According to Mitchell:

“The group that wields the surveillance tool is not wielding it upon itself. They’re not the ones that are being watched. It is the watcher, not the watchers, that is on the empowerment side of this thing.”

To hear more from Mitchell’s conversation with The Agenda — including his backstory and the revolutionary objectives of CryptoHarlem — listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows!

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

United States CBDC would ‘crowd out’ crypto ecosystem: Ex-Biden adviser

Daleep Singh argues that crowding out cryptocurrencies by establishing a CBDC in the United States would protect the country’s national interests.

The creation of a United States digital dollar would “crowd out” the cryptocurrency ecosystem and protect the national security of the U.S., according to a former top adviser in president Joe Biden’s administration.

Daleep Singh — a former deputy national security adviser for international economics in the Biden administration — made the comments at a Feb. 28 Senate Banking Committee hearing, suggesting that cryptocurrencies facilitate ransomware attacks and contribute to the evasion of U.S. sanctions.

Singh believes the U.S. government embracing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) “is the single best step that we could take [to protect national interests] because it would crowd out the ecosystem of crypto.”

Singh frames “crowding out” as a desirable development in his discussion of a CBDC but the phrase is generally used by economists to refer to how investments from governments can drive down or eliminate investments from private firms that could limit job creation and slow economic growth.

In an interview with Cointelegraph laMay, Franklin Noll — the president of Consulting firm Noll Historical Consulting — also suggested that CBDCs could crowd out crypto, noting:

“The downside for crypto is that CBDCs will work to crowd out private cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins focused on retail payment areas. Cryptocurrencies will stay in niches in the payment system where they serve unique functions and provide specialized services.”

While China has implemented its own CBDC, the U.S. is still exploring the potential benefits and risks associated with CBDCs.

Yana Fanusie, the policy lead at the crypto advocacy group Crypto Council for Innovation, said in a March 1 interview with Bloomberg that China is “leading the way” on CBDC development while the U.S. is “on the sidelines.”

He added that developing alternative financial rails could spell “trouble” to the U.S. as they affect the “potency” of its power to enforce sanctions.

Others are more critical of the digital dollar plans, such as Representative Tom Emmer, who introduced legislation on Feb. 22 prohibiting the Federal Reserve from implementing monetary policy based on a CBDC and issuing a digital dollar directly to individuals.

Emmer is concerned that a CBDC could impact the financial privacy of American citizens, and be developed into a “dangerous surveillance tool.”

The Biden admin wants to create a surveillance-style digital dollar that is NOT:

❌Open
❌Permissionless
❌Private

That’s why I introduced legislation to prevent unelected bureaucrats from stripping Americans of their right to financial privacy. pic.twitter.com/55e2nfmlJy

— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) February 28, 2023

Are we still mad at MetaMask and ConsenSys for snooping on us?

ConsenSys, the developer behind MetaMask, isn’t the only one snooping on our transactions, but they’ve taken the most heat for it.

The cryptocurrency community has a tendency to fixate on a new issue every few weeks and then promptly forget about it. The limited attention span of this community misses the ultimate resolution of important issues. Over the Thanksgiving holiday in November 2022, ConsenSys released a disclosure about a privacy policy affecting MetaMask users that sent “Crypto Twitter” into a firestorm. My first reaction was also negative.

That’s what a sly fox would say isn’t it? pic.twitter.com/PfKMTiNHoR

— J.W. Verret, JD, CPA/CVA (@JWVerret) November 25, 2022

The MetaMask browser extension wallet uses a node called Infura. That node is owned by ConsenSys, the same company that develops MetaMask. The press release reminded users that Infura collects the internet protocol (IP) addresses and wallet addresses of users who connect their MetaMask wallet to Infura. It also reminded them that MetaMask users don’t have to use Infura, which is only a default, and that MetaMask allows connection to other public node providers such as Alchemy or Ankr.

When you send or receive crypto, your wallet interacts with the blockchain. But wallets don’t download the blockchain; that’s too cumbersome for a wallet on your phone. Instead, when your crypto wallet sends a transaction, most wallets use a public node to request that new transactions be added to the blockchain via the mempool.

(You could set up your own node. In fact, for better privacy and speed, you probably should. More private nodes also mean a more decentralized network. But I’ve tried and I don’t have sufficient technical skills to do so. Maybe you will have better luck.)

Now, let’s remember that blockchains like Ethereum aren’t private. If you want privacy, you need to use a privacy coin like Monero (XMR), which leaks some information about the sender, or Zcash (ZEC)-shielded transactions, which leak no sender information. Or you need a privacy tool, but unfortunately, the feds sanctioned Tornado Cash, which was the most reliable privacy tool on Ethereum.

Regardless, if you are using a public node or any other central service to transact in crypto, you need to use a virtual private network (VPN) or Tor (easy to use with the Tor browser) to mask your internet service provider (ISP) address. Is anyone out there using Ledger Live to transact in crypto using your Ledger hardware device? Ledger Live tracks ISPs too, and apparently keeps that information for up to five years.

Privacy is a personal responsibility. No one will protect it for you. Crypto users need to learn to use privacy tools like VPNs, Tor, privacy coins, etc. The day will soon come when governments send blanket “John Doe summonses” to public node providers to get those ISPs, just like the Internal Revenue Service did to central crypto exchanges in the early days of crypto. And those intermediaries will undoubtedly comply.

There are legitimate reasons remote procedure call providers may want to retain ISP information. Some node users who are Infura clients may want ISPs tracked because it could help to hunt down hackers.

So, back to the question: Are we still mad at MetaMask? Foxes are known for being clever. However, less known is that they’re also loyal, as both males and females care for a tight-knit family unit. Was the MetaMask fox too clever, or was he loyal to core blockchain principles?

What sparked the outrage was public disclosure about changes to their privacy policy. Transparency is a good thing — or should be unless Crypto Twitter erupts violently in response to those disclosures. And they further refined their privacy policy in response to the criticism. Read the new Infura privacy policy for yourself here. It seems straightforward and attempts limited privacy protection.

Para los que se preocupan por su IP en MM recuerden que pueden cambiar el RPC de Infura en 4 pasos de la siguiente manera:

— . | (@ancestral_alien) November 25, 2022

Except you do, you have, you will always bc there is no way not to. Dont disrespect your users like that.

You send every users various onchain addreses, IPs, info to mewapi (you), blockchain info, moonbeam network, on and on.

The ONLY diff is that YOU blatantly lie abt it.

— Tay (@tayvano_) November 24, 2022

Infura competitors like Alchemy and MyEtherWallet took this opportunity to throw shade Infura’s way. One MetaMask developer hit back. Read Alchemy’s privacy policy, which uses legalese to reserve the right to collect and use data however Alchemy chooses. Alchemy’s privacy policy gets a negative recommendation from Chainlist for its poor privacy practices. Not cool.

In crypto, as with life, privacy is a personal right and responsibility. Energy spent on momentary outbursts is better spent learning about privacy technology to protect yourself.

J.W. Verret is an associate professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He is a practicing crypto forensic accountant and also practices securities law at Lawrence Law LLC. He is a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Advisory Council and a former SEC Investor Advisory Committee member. He also leads the Crypto Freedom Lab — a think tank fighting for policy change to preserve freedom and privacy for crypto developers and users.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Blockchain is the only viable path to privacy and censorship resistance in the 21st century

Decentralized file-sharing services that Big Tech companies can’t control are the only way internet users will be able to maintain their freedom in the years ahead.

While censorship resistance and privacy are not the same thing, they are closely intertwined. When the government or another entity, such as an advertiser, can track everything you do, they can also sanction you for bad behavior.

Instead of working backward to try and cover up seismic cracks in Web2 with duct tape, it may be time to move full speed ahead on ensuring these same mistakes don’t happen in Web3. By being proactive, the purported internet of the future could actually protect our private information and prevent overzealous or oppressive censorship before these issues become unmanageable.

Using crypto to deliver the message

In countries fighting for human rights and civil liberties, suppressing free speech and outward communication complicates the struggle against oppressive regimes. This is where the encryption and transparency of blockchain technology can prove to be useful in protecting sensitive information. Web3-based email extensions (such as ShelterZoom’s Document GPS) and file-sharing services (such as the InterPlanetary File System) have the potential to help activists and citizens in human rights hotbeds circumvent censorship and unwarranted surveillance.

By placing documents on a ledger, the sender can control all aspects of visibility and permissions while simultaneously having access to a time-stamped log of every action taken with the file. Think of it like DocuSign or Google Docs on steroids.

In a regime with stringent practices on surveillance and censorship, it’s easy to see how these blockchain-based tools are invaluable. But these kinds of solutions also use blockchain to address crypto’s censorship blind spots. It’s a common misconception that crypto is inherently private when the opposite is actually true, as transactions are stored on an open and transparent distributed ledger. This is why they are traceable in an even more effective fashion than traditional financial transactions.

This lesson was learned the hard way by the truck convoy blockade in Canada, which received donations in Bitcoin (BTC), which were easily traced and sanctioned. In the words of Michael Gronager, CEO of blockchain data firm Chainalysis, “Crypto is far more transparent than traditional finance. […] We follow the funds.”

So, how did crypto earn a reputation as censorship-resistant? Part of the answer lies in its decentralized ledger which is extremely difficult to take over, meaning that transactions are immutable once recorded.

One network working to offer complete anonymity is Tomi, a developer of Web3-based decentralized solutions and assisted-computing hardware. Led by eight anonymous senior crypto veterans working with 72 developers, Tomi is building TomiNet to empower the free flow of information between journalists, activists and generally law-abiding people without government or corporate interference. While TomiNet has similar anonymity functions to the dark web, the network is governed by Tomi’s community through a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to prevent unsavory or pernicious activities.

The idea behind DAO governance is simple: Keep governments and corporations out, but still offer a mechanism for striking down violence.

The need for decentralization is more than theoretical

Another notable example of gatekeeping in Big Tech can be seen in the controversial right-wing social network Parler getting kicked off cloud-based web hosting services such as Amazon Web Services. Cloud technology is hailed as a truly beneficial technology in internet infrastructure. But the issue is that there are a handful of cloud companies that provide virtually all essential infrastructure, empowering them to act as gatekeepers.

Whether you agree with Parler being banned, the event illustrates how a company is effectively blocked from operating on the internet because a cloud service wouldn’t serve them.

Decentralized web hosting could step in as a much-needed solution. Companies like Akash and Flux offer a wide range of cloud services imperative for the internet age, but by leveraging decentralization, they remove the cloud service’s ability to exert control over users.

The examples of governments and private entities with too much power stifling speech and communications are growing by the day. Web3 needs to step up to the plate, but in a more forceful and demonstrative way than it has before. Censorship resistance and privacy live in a symbiotic relationship, and neither means anything without the other. The crypto world needs to remember this if it is to fulfill the space’s tall order of promises.

Maintaining privacy in this day and age is nearly impossible. From data theft incidents to governments tracking citizens, every person is susceptible to unwanted exposure. TikTok recently updated its privacy policy for the European Economic Area to confirm that personnel, including China-based employees, can access user data. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime continues to crack down on protesters, leaving the citizens afraid to speak out against the leadership.

Ariel Shapira is a father, entrepreneur, speaker and cyclist and serves as the founder and CEO of Social-Wisdom, a consulting agency working with Israeli startups and helping them to establish connections with international markets.

Cryptocurrency is picking up as an instrument for tyranny

From ubiquitous surveillance to negative interest rates, crypto is giving dictators and global corporate leaders new ways to intimidate, oppress and subjugate humanity.

Proponents paint Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies as antidotes to totalitarian governments and central banks. Simultaneously, international corporations and startups alike have designed blockchain platforms and products that could be used on behalf of totalitarian governments and central banks.

Microsoft body activity data

One example is Microsoft, which applied for a patent for a cryptocurrency system using body activity data. As part of the cryptocurrency mining process, the cryptocurrency system gives a task to your device, instructing you to complete a “human body activity.”

A sensor in the user’s device registers the body activity, and then the cryptocurrency system rewards the user. “The sensed body activity is associated with the received task and transmits the generated body activity data to a system or network, which verifies the body activity data to award cryptocurrency.”

It’s reminiscent of the Justin Timberlake movie In Time, where a future society uses time from one’s lifespan as its primary currency, with each individual possessing a clock on their arm that counts down how long they have to live. When the clock hits zero, they’re dead.

SmartKey

Olsztyn, Poland leveraged the Ethereum blockchain to run a trial of SmartKey, a bridging technology that connects blockchain technology to the lock to your home, for example.

They say it’s to “aid in police, fire, and ambulance services” (read: for your safety). SmartKey allows emergency crews to enter any building in the city without needing to find the keyholder or wait for permission.

“The need for our rescue services to perform their duties without obstruction is a delicate one. The use of blockchain and SmartKey technology seems to be like the perfect solution, giving reassurance to building owners and inhabitants, but also freedom for our emergency services,” according to Gustaw Marek Brzezin, the marshall of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship in which Olsztyn is located.

As any student of political science knows, the bedrock of any constitution is the freedom for our emergency services!

Central bank digital currency (CBDC)

The European Central Bank (ECB) noted in a white paper that it would be possible to track every single CBDC transaction in a nation. All transactions under such a regime would be known to the central bank and anyone with whom the bank chooses to share information.

With a digital currency, central banks can impose restrictions on the holding of money. The ECB has discussed capping the amount a person can hold, limiting the time a person can hold an amount of money, and imposing negative interest rates on amounts that the bank deems excessive. Similar functionality is present in the Bank of China’s CBDC. Dystopian policies can be implemented more easily with a digital currency — including negative interest rates and more.

Mass surveillance

Ledger founder Pascal Gauthier sees the European Union’s Transfer of Funds Regulation bill as little more than mass surveillance.

“Imagine you have a wallet, your leather wallet, and you’ve got cash in it. Now every time that you’re going to pay in cash somewhere, you’re going to have to flash your ID… and they’re going to note your name,” Gauthier said. “This is not the world I want to live in.”

He added, “Some groups in the European Parliament have some very specific and dogmatic agenda … [and are] using excuses to ban Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as much as possible. Rumors they’ve heard. Like, oh, I heard it’s for money launderers…”

World Economic Forum (WEF)

The Davos-based WEF, which is best known perhaps for bringing humanity “The Great Reset,” notes in a blog post on its website that blockchain is capable of bringing about an industrial revolution in which the biological, technological and physical worlds. It’s going to do that by enabling the tracking of almost anything, including food and medical supplies, such as vaccines.

It’s “a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network,” the WEF notes, citing an IBM assessment of blockchain tech. “An asset can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding). Virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded on a blockchain network, reducing risk and cutting costs for all involved.”

As the WEF and IBM note, blockchain makes a world of ubiquitous surveillance possible.

Justin O’Connel is the founder of Narracomm, GoldSilverBitcoin, Cryptographic Asset and THCist. He has been a Bitcoin-focused entrepreneur since 2012.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.