Field Notes from a Year of Opsec Training

4 hours ago

OPSEC trainings focus on digital privacy and security for at-risk communities, differing from traditional pentesting by prioritizing human rights perspectives and being pro bono.
Engagement involves threat modeling, OSINT investigations, and tailored training using tools like Privacy Badger, emphasizing accessibility and context-specific advice.
Communities advised include abortion access activists, transgender rights advocates, sex worker rights activists, and others facing marginalization and state violence.
Common threats involve doxxing, social media monitoring, content suppression, and surveillance opacity, addressed through prioritized threat modeling and mitigation strategies.
Resistance strategies start with non-technical recommendations like contingency plans, then progress to technical solutions such as encryption and secure backups, ensuring usability.
Advocates for comprehensive data privacy legislation highlight how its absence threatens self-determination and public safety, urging collective action against harmful laws.
Collaboration across issue spaces reveals shared threats and opportunities for allyship, emphasizing the need for public interest technologists to connect and avoid redundant work.

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