Secure Communication Infrastructure
They're listening. Build communication systems they can't easily surveil.
Pressure addressed: leadership
Time: Weeks to establish, ongoing maintenance
People: Everyone who needs to coordinate securely
Resources: Secure tools (mostly free), training time, consistent practice
About this tool
Assume they're watching. Government surveillance. Corporate data harvesting. Informants. The communication systems most people use are compromised by design. Secure communication infrastructure builds capacity to coordinate without surveillance. Encrypted messaging. Secure email. Careful data hygiene. Operational security practices. This isn't paranoia, it's prudent.
How to do it
Assess threat model
Who might surveil you? What capabilities do they have? What's the cost of breach? Right-size security to actual threat.
Choose appropriate tools
Signal for messaging. ProtonMail for email. Appropriate tools for your threat level. Usability matters, tools people won't use don't help.
Train everyone
Tools are useless if people don't use them correctly. Training on both tools and practices.
Establish protocols
What's discussed on which channels? What never goes digital? Consistent practices across the group.
Maintain discipline
Security degrades without attention. Regular reminders. Addressing lapses. Ongoing vigilance.
Before you start
- Threat assessment
- Basic technical capacity
- Group commitment to practices
Implementation guidance
Starting point
- Threat-appropriate tools in use across group
- Everyone trained on tools and practices
- Consistent protocols followed
- Regular security hygiene maintained
- Incident response plan for breaches
- Security culture normalized (not performative)
Building on it
- Secure tools adopted by core group
- Basic training completed
- Some consistent practices
Advanced practice
- Security theater without substance
- Tools adopted but not used correctly
- Inconsistent practices that create false confidence
Security theater creates false confidence, people think they're protected when they're not. Incorrectly used tools can be worse than no security (e.g., encrypted messages to the wrong group). Inconsistent practices mean security fails at the weakest link.
Examples
Activist security culture
Communities adopting secure communication practices
Reduced surveillance impact, protected coordination capacity