Goal

Start your learning journal, discover cypherpunk culture and resources, and set clear expectations for success in this course.

Prerequisites: Week 1b (Threat Modeling & Environment Setup)

This is Part 3 of 3 - Covers journaling, culture, and course roadmap.

1. Start Your Learning Journal

Create Your Journal

cd ~/cypherpunk-journal
nano journal.md

First entry template:

# Cypherpunk School 101 - Learning Journal

## Week 1: Cypherpunk Ideals & Threat Modeling

**Date:** [Today's date]

### What I Learned Today

- Read *A Cypherpunk's Manifesto* by Eric Hughes
- Learned about the cypherpunk movement's history
- Created my first threat model
- Set up my cypherpunk development environment
- Encrypted my first file with GPG

### Key Insights

- Privacy is not the same as secrecy - it's selective revelation
- Cryptography empowers individuals against powerful institutions
- "Cypherpunks write code" - action over talk
- My primary threats are [list your Tier 1-3 threats]

### Aha Moments

- [What surprised you?]
- [What challenged your assumptions?]
- [What excited you about this path?]

### Questions for Further Exploration

- How does GPG actually work under the hood?
- What makes one encryption algorithm stronger than another?
- How can I verify if my current tools are actually private?

### Action Items

- [ ] Review threat model weekly
- [ ] Practice CLI tools daily
- [ ] Start Week 2 exercises
- [ ] Recommend one cypherpunk tool to a friend

### Personal Reflection

[Your thoughts on why privacy matters to you personally]

---

Save and close (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter)

Commit Your Journal

cd ~/cypherpunk-journal
git init
git add journal.md threat_model.md
git commit -m "Week 1: Initial threat model and journal entries"

2. Cypherpunk Culture & Resources

Essential Reading

Start here:

  1. A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto - Eric Hughes (1993)
  2. The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto - Tim May (1988)
  3. Why I Wrote PGP - Phil Zimmermann (1991)

Deeper dives:

  • Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet - Julian Assange
  • This Machine Kills Secrets - Andy Greenberg
  • Crypto - Steven Levy

Modern Cypherpunk Projects

Communication:

  • Signal - End-to-end encrypted messaging
  • Matrix/Element - Federated encrypted chat
  • Session - Decentralized messaging (no phone number)

Anonymous Networking:

  • Tor - Onion routing for anonymity
  • I2P - Invisible Internet Project
  • Nym - Metadata-resistant mixnet

Privacy Tools:

  • Tails - Amnesic live OS
  • Whonix - VM-based Tor isolation
  • QubesOS - Security through compartmentalization

Cryptocurrencies:

  • Bitcoin - Decentralized currency
  • Monero - Private transactions
  • Zcash - Zero-knowledge proofs

File Storage:

  • IPFS - Distributed file system
  • Sia - Decentralized cloud storage
  • Tahoe-LAFS - Secure distributed storage

Organizations

Documentaries

  • Citizenfour (Edward Snowden)
  • The Internet’s Own Boy (Aaron Swartz)

3. Course Roadmap: What to Expect

Course Structure

Weeks 1-3: Foundations

  • Cypherpunk philosophy and threat modeling (this week)
  • Cryptographic fundamentals (hashing, symmetric/asymmetric encryption)
  • GPG mastery (practical encrypted communication)

Weeks 4-6: File & Communication Security

  • Encrypted filesystems and secure containers
  • SSH deep dive and tunneling
  • Encrypted email and metadata hygiene

Weeks 7-9: Network Anonymity & OpSec

  • Tor for anonymous networking
  • Identity compartmentalization with VMs
  • Physical security and airgaps

Weeks 10-12: Automation & Integration

  • Scripting encrypted workflows
  • System hardening and sandboxing
  • Final project: Your secure environment

What This Course Is NOT

This is not:

  • A beginner Linux tutorial (you need basic CLI skills)
  • A hacking course (we build defenses, not exploits)
  • Theoretical cryptography (we focus on practical application)
  • A shortcut to anonymity (OpSec is hard, there are no magic bullets)

This IS:

  • Hands-on CLI cryptography
  • Practical privacy tool mastery
  • Real-world operational security
  • Building your personal cypherpunk toolkit

How to Succeed

Do:

  • Actually run the commands (don’t just read)
  • Keep a journal (you’ll reference it later)
  • Practice daily (consistency beats cramming)
  • Question everything (verify, don’t trust)
  • Build on previous weeks (skills compound)

Don’t:

  • Skip the foundational weeks (Week 1-3 are critical)
  • Commit private keys to git (we can’t stress this enough)
  • Practice on production systems (use a VM or test environment)
  • Give up when stuck (cypherpunk skills take time)

4. Best Practices Moving Forward

Journal Maintenance

  • Write after each session (don’t batch)
  • Include both successes and struggles
  • Note questions for later research
  • Review monthly to see progress

Security Reminders

  • Never commit private keys (check .gitignore)
  • Use passphrases for GPG keys (we’ll improve in Week 3)
  • Encrypt sensitive journal entries (we’ll learn in Week 2)
  • Test backups before you need them

Learning Tips

  • One week at a time (don’t rush ahead)
  • Hands-on beats reading (actually do the exercises)
  • Teach to learn (explain concepts to someone)
  • Build, break, rebuild (experimentation is key)

Week 1 Checklist

Philosophy & Motivation:

  • Read A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto in full
  • Understand why privacy ≠ secrecy
  • Identified your personal motivations for privacy

Threat Modeling:

  • Created personal threat model document
  • Identified your primary adversaries (Tier 1-5)
  • Listed your digital assets to protect
  • Defined realistic mitigation strategies

Environment Setup:

  • Created ~/cypherpunk101 directory structure
  • Initialized Git repository with .gitignore
  • Added shell aliases to .bashrc
  • Verified environment with test commands

CLI Proficiency:

  • Practiced man pages for 5+ commands
  • Used grep, find, and piping
  • Created and verified file hashes
  • Completed practice exercise

First Encryption:

  • Generated quick GPG key
  • Encrypted first message
  • Decrypted it successfully

Journal:

  • Created learning journal
  • Wrote first weekly reflection
  • Committed journal to git

Inspiration:

  • Feel excited about the cypherpunk path
  • Ready to dive deeper into cryptography

Journal & Git Commit

echo "Week 1: Completed cypherpunk philosophy intro, built threat model, set up environment, encrypted first message with GPG." >> notes/week01_journal.md

git add .
git commit -S -m "Week 1 - Cypherpunk ideals, threat modeling, environment setup"

Up Next: Week 2

Week 2: Cryptographic Fundamentals

  • How hashing works (SHA-256, BLAKE2, collision resistance)
  • Symmetric encryption deep dive (AES, ChaCha20, modes)
  • Key derivation functions (PBKDF2, Argon2)
  • Entropy and randomness (why /dev/urandom matters)
  • Practical encryption with OpenSSL

Homework before Week 2:

  • Review your threat model daily this week
  • Practice CLI commands for 15 minutes/day
  • Read one additional cypherpunk article
  • Think about what encryption means to you

Additional Resources

Manifestos & Philosophy:

Books:

  • Cypherpunks by Julian Assange
  • Crypto by Steven Levy
  • This Machine Kills Secrets by Andy Greenberg

Key Takeaways

  • Journal daily - Document your learning journey
  • Review threat model - Update as circumstances change
  • Cypherpunk culture - Know the history, heroes, and tools
  • Course structure - 12 weeks from foundations to advanced
  • Success requires - Hands-on practice, not just reading
  • Never commit secrets - Always check what you’re pushing to git