Practical tips: Secure communications

Installation by SpY in Madrid, Spain
Installation by SpY in Madrid, Spain

In the street art and graffiti community, many of us deal with sensitive data every day, but many of us do not protect ourselves from being snooped on. The NSA and GCHQ may have little interest in what you were doing running around with cans of paint last night, but other government agencies might care a great deal, and they also have a surprising level of access to your data and communications if you don’t protect yourself.

I’m not a lawyer or a security expert, and I’m not encouraging anyone to break the law. My tips in this post are not legal advice and they’re far from perfect. I simply want to get a discussion going about security in our community and suggest a few ways that we might begin to protect ourselves and communicate more securely. My suggestions are US-centric, but many of the same tips and concerns should apply no matter what country you’re in. Also, remember that no system is ever completely secure. If you have questions or more tips or you think my tips don’t work the way I say they do, please email me or leave a comment.

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