It could be your neighbor – If you’ve known about cryptocurrencies for a while, you’ve probably heard of them Cypherpunksthis group of individuals and this intellectual movement to which he belonged Statoshi nakamotothe creator of Bitcoin.
Who are the cypherpunks?
In our now ultra-connected and increasingly transparent society, anyone who cares even a little about their privacy could almost be considered one. But what separates the average user from privacy tools like a VPN (to some extent) or the TOR network and a cypherpunk is thecommitment and activism highlighted by this Last.
Cypherpunks write code, use their knowledge to propagate computer tools aimed at the general public in order to allow the latter to get out of the clutches of large corporations and other modern GAFAMsthrough the use of data encryption methods.
But cypherpunks don’t just write code. They are also at the origin of some famous tests in the world of cryptography (the famous data encryption we just talked about) such as the ” manifesto of a cypherpunk ” written by Eric Hughes in 1993 or the ” Cyberpunk poster » revealed by Christian AsKirtchev in 1997. These writings on the evolution of society and on the increasingly important role that the digital life of every individual on the planet will assume it turned out to be almost prophetic.
No doubtEdward Snowdenwho sacrificed his professional life and family life to expose the mass surveillance implemented by the United States government following the attacks of September 11, 2001, is also a cypherpunk. Julian Assange (founder of Wikileaks) is another famous example.
Cypherpunks don’t just protect themselves, they fight for all of our freedoms. If you want to know more about the history of cypherpunks, I invite you to consult this very comprehensive article written by Ludovic Lars.
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Satoshi Nakamoto was a cypherpunk
By creating Bitcoin, Satoshi established an autonomous, peer-to-peer, decentralized monetary model that will be based on mathematical cryptography processes that allow preserve the privacy of network users.
Nakamoto’s will was clear. It was necessary to do without the banks, to prevent the public from falling once again into the networks of the financial elites who monopolize profit and make the poorest pay. We needed access to money without intermediariesa protocol that would not be maintained by government entities.
These simple principles, which are at the very origin of Bitcoin, have found particular resonance after the failure of FTX and the multiple misadventures that cryptocurrency users have suffered throughout the year 2022.
But while the crowds, driven by greed, always make the same mistakes, some people stand up to defend our individual freedoms. And this, even in France.
But who are these people? While it is impossible to list them exhaustively, it seems to me important to do so highlight some collective initiatives who work for the common good.
Framasoft
Framasoft is an association founded in 2004. It fights for social and digital justice and encourages its members (as well as curious visitors) to emancipate oneself from the dictates of GAFAM and surveillance capitalism.
I invite you to visit their site to discover the myriad of initiatives that allow the use of alternative tools to those of Google and Microsoft to find, little by little, the control of your privacy on the Internet.
From the calendar manager, forms or shared documents, it’s hard not to find a tool that fits your needs.
The implementation of these tools was carried out as part of an action plan that the association had boldly called ” Degoogle the Internet “. This initiative was based on a simple principle, The Internet is surrounded by tools put online for free by GAFAM to vampire as much personal data as possible, all with the candid participation of users.
It was therefore essential to develop alternatives that could help the most interested to escape the gaze of Silicon Valley companies.
If you have some time ahead of you, the conference put online on this topic evokes many initiatives, taken by GAFAM or governments, that send shivers down your spine (citizen score, misuse of biometric and facial recognition data, etc.). This presentation will surely encourage you to be more careful in your daily Internet activities.
Supported by the implementation of qualitative tools, the association has decided on a new action plan for the next 3 years, in order to facilitate thedigital emancipation for associations. This will involve building an ethical cloud and personalized support.
But Framasoft is not alone in defending your privacy in France.
Square the net
You may have heard of it if you have been around the Net for a while, but La Quadrature du Net (LQDN), association for the defense of freedoms on the Internetis also carrying out its share of actions in order to fight against mass surveillance.
It is difficult to make an exhaustive list of these actions here, but:
- Quadrature obtained the withdrawal of a student monitoring program during remote tests;
- The association is also fighting against the ranking algorithms used by the CAF to “evaluate” the beneficiaries of public aid;
- Finally, the fight against technopolice and mass surveillance is one of the spearheads of La Quadrature. The association won the case before the Council of State on May 18, 2020, after the state was called to immediately stop shooting with drones.
As the knowledgeable reader that you are now, you should ask yourself the question about your hygiene and fingerprint. But also on the efforts you are willing to make to protect your data and your privacy.
If you care about the use of your personal data and find that the web giants know too much about you, then the tools of Framasoft it can be useful to you.
If you are concerned about the liberticidal excesses that the use of certain technologies can cause (always presented as useful for the common good), then the work done by LQDN will surely find favor in your eyes.
Questioning about these topics is never a waste of time. And even if you don’t want to get involved in these projects, using alternative tools that don’t gorge themselves on all your personal data can’t be a bad thing. The best way to prevent your data from being pirated or misdirectedis to begin by exercising vigilance over their distribution.
In cryptocurrency, do not save on prudence! So, to keep your crypto assets safe, your best bet is still a personal hardware wallet. To the ledger, there is something for all profiles and all cryptocurrencies. Don’t wait to secure your capital (trade link)!