[Durham] privacy and security on the internet

[mark]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256

Hi folks

This email is to invite discussion and gauge interest about a possible
event. Please respond to say if you're interested, or to join in the
discussion.

I'm copying in the Transition Durham mailing list because this relates
to thinking globally & acting locally to build decentralised,
resilient communications, and I think we all want that :)  Sorry if
anyone gets this message more than once due to list overlap.


Now the detail: One of the things that came out of the dfs3 day [1] at
the Miners' Hall was that some people were interested in learning
about privacy and security on computers / the internet.

Over on the Durham Linux User Group mailing list (cc'ed, reply there
please), there's a discussion taking place about whether to organise a
session devoted to practical cryptography [2], and what its scope
should be.

One option is to just look at "signing PGP keys"; PGP is a widely used
system for sending private emails over the internet, and proving who
you are; "signing keys" means building a decentralized global common
web of trust. You can read more technical info here [3] or take a
simple course for beginners here [4].

Another option is to make the scope a bit broader, and host what's
called a "cryptoparty". That means we would be helping each other with
not just PGP, but other uses of encryption as well. Things like
encrypting your hard drive so potential thieves can't see your
personal stuff, sending private messages over chat networks, digital
anonymity and more. You can read more about the cryptoparty idea here [5].

So, would you be interested in joining in an event in either of these
formats?

Either event should be suitable for computer users of all abilities
but if anyone has concerns about any potential obstacles to
participation, feel free to contact me in private if you prefer to
discuss them off-list. That would mean addressing an email to
mark at aktivix.org rather than clicking 'reply' to this message.

Cheers,
Mark


[1] https://network23.org/dfs3/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography
[3] https://www.gnupg.org/index.html
[4] https://p2pu.org/en/groups/encrypt-and-sign-your-email/
[5] https://www.cryptoparty.in/index

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.10 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Icedove - http://www.enigmail.net/

iQIcBAEBCAAGBQJT/FAvAAoJECivkG/nESo7gosP/RzcQn5jTKz3sDZrAnYioZiJ
L9KEikXjyyf7UFnJ/VSsjsz3UAVC2R4f/hiKFmR5taKXemrxwv1uoYianVCznm2M
9MnqpJrDHYTrINg8yxFEYId/LToGRkVMGFDZqCEQsKZPw/yBbdgy+J3vzu0bVp9i
YukYDYmjGoriRjY8HwT8tcVpwIvA1mig8Y5sWkvJr/rQvol0zkxTD1sAYG+cOb7a
A6LPtdITvPk3/04HXq6mtB5bm60MAU4e+Hg9y/IDY/KMTgiDgep3y1VGq3elT41p
0yXBZfMTsPTd9Ley1Dzn8QKrvfNm9JyGwF7CwML8x30Ut1FxDI6/EF5PwlhJxMLK
MyjeHKt6xNYTMw1n7lXRU4n2KLLwdDqHOUEYWotWlTyG+0SUns71znP/Pf/4ukvw
ThL8D/bBdUMa8hPiAhxJOIJP5ydKvhscXKtYjZ7b8ldgAmE7/CX8+2qmqpyfm3q/
y6To1eYAkC3DFN0/3vPs0Wb7hGt3FyIMsMyYiY852YklBFHaHhbm6Dinqc1hMxfP
0pvCvKccehksjqXr1+317k41z4Zhiu3kHVjN+ur37cPhzLZugRFFUqlnTDDJZ2lw
lKN7RAJlXtO7LE4NSibayxZN9TESQMNEewjpHXzDLIV4scpszrk90LR4z+Mlwa35
9c2DjLixROdVnAzWOQcC
=amFd
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----