Welcome To My Blog

Welcome to my new blog "Chesbro on Security". This blog is a personal effort to share privacy and security related information with those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for research and educational purposes. 

Security consists of those measures taken to mitigate hostile actions directed against us. One of the most serious obstacles to personal security today is an attitude of complacency or fatalism. "It can't happen to me" and "if it's going to happen there is nothing I can do about it" is dangerous thinking. Recent political events throughout the world have changed - but certainly not diminished - the threats that we face. A criminal or terrorist attack against you or your family can happen at any place and at any time, as can a natural disaster, or civil unrest that disrupts the infrastructure that surrounds us. However, you can influence what happens to you and your family by assuming personal responsibility for your own safety and security.

Likewise, personal privacy is not something that we should take for granted. The government and major corporations (Big Brother and Big Business) would like us to believe that if we have nothing to hide, then we have nothing to fear. Privacy is complex, and while most people are doing nothing wrong, we all have things that we consider private and that should not be held up to government and corporate scrutiny. The rapid erosion of our personal privacy, the collection of our personal information and the loss of that information in a seemingly never-ending series of data breaches is threatening society in a fundamental way. 

It is near certain that the authors of America’s Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and its Bill of Rights could not have anticipated a world in which the average American paid a quarter of their annual income to the government in taxes, a government that secretly monitors our personal communications, collects and stores vast quantities of information about its citizens, and a government in which the concept of privacy is fast approaching extinction. The idea that individual citizens would require government approval in the form of licensing and permits in order to go about their daily lives; a license to travel upon the public highways, a permit to build upon their own private land, a permit to carry a firearm for one’s personal defense, a license to sell fresh farm products at a local market, a permit to distill spirits even for personal use, and so many other similar government intrusions into our personal lives would have been unconscionable to the men and women in 1776 who had just fought a war to gain their freedom and independence from government oppression. 

We live in a world of laws, rules, policies, and regulations. It is these laws, rules, policies, and regulations that help societies to function smoothly and to operate with some degree of regularity and efficiency. They reduce some of the friction between people living in close proximity and help to promote safety and order in our communities. But there is a problem. That problem is that there are so many laws, rules, policies, and regulations that it is almost impossible to exist without violating something on a daily basis. We have reached a point where everything has been criminalized. Not only is it almost impossible to live our lives without violating some law or regulation, but Big Brother and big business want to watch, track, and record everything we do. Ours is a surveillance society where we are monitored and tracked, licensed and taxed, from the day we are born until well after we die.

And because we live in a world of laws, rules, policies, and regulations, here are the various required...  Disclaimers & Legal Information

• The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency of the U.S. government, the author’s employer, or any organization, committee, group or other individual.
• The author assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this blog. The information contained in this blog is provided on an "as is" basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness.
• Some of the links in this blog may be "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.
• This blog may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of security, personal privacy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this blog is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this blog for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.