Opsec

Episode 6: Building Your Threat Model Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~10 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary “Privacy” isn’t one thing. Protecting yourself from advertisers is different from protecting yourself from hackers. Protecting yourself from an abusive ex is different from protecting yourself from a government. The tools are different, the tradeoffs are different—and if you don’t know what you’re defending against, you’ll either do too little or exhaust yourself doing too much. ...

Operational Security Tools don’t protect you. Habits do. You can have the most encrypted, hardened, anonymized setup in the world—and blow it all by posting a photo that reveals your location, using your real name once, or clicking a phishing link. Operational Security (OpSec) is the discipline of protecting information through consistent practices. It’s the difference between having security tools and actually being secure. This final week ties everything together. You’ll learn the mindset, habits, and ongoing practices that make all your previous weeks of work actually effective. ...

Goal Create your personal threat model identifying what you’re protecting and from whom, then set up your secure development environment for the rest of the course. Prerequisites: Week 1a (Cypherpunk Philosophy) This is Part 2 of 3 - Covers threat modeling and environment setup. 1. What Is Threat Modeling? Threat modeling is the process of identifying what you need to protect, who you’re protecting it from, and how you’ll defend it. ...

Goal Master advanced Tor techniques including VPN combinations, bypassing censorship with bridges, contributing to the network by running relays, integrating Tor with SSH, and understanding when NOT to use Tor. Prerequisites: Week 7a (Tor Fundamentals) This is Part 2 of 2 - Covers advanced configuration and limitations. 🌱 New to this? For a gentler take on VPNs—what they do, what they don’t, and how to pick one—Privacy 101 covers it without the command line: Privacy 101 Week 7: VPNs Done Right → ...

Goal Understand why identity compartmentalization is critical for operational security and learn to create isolated environments using virtual machines. Prerequisites: Weeks 1-7 (encryption, Tor, networking) This is Part 1 of 2 - Covers compartmentalization concepts and VM basics. 🌱 New to this? Privacy 101 introduces the operational-security mindset—habits, compartmentalization, and the privacy mindset—in a beginner-friendly way first: Privacy 101 Week 11: Operational Security → 1. Why Compartmentalization Matters The Problem: Identity Bleeding Without compartmentalization: ...

Goal Master specialized security operating systems (Whonix and Tails) for maximum anonymity and build practical compartmentalization workflows for different use cases. Prerequisites: Week 8a (VM Fundamentals) This is Part 2 of 2 - Covers Whonix, Tails, and practical workflows. 1. Whonix: Maximum Anonymity Through Isolation What is Whonix? Two-VM architecture for Tor isolation: ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Whonix-Workstation │ │ (Where you actually work) │ │ - Browser, apps, files │ │ - Cannot directly access internet │ │ - All traffic → Whonix-Gateway │ └──────────────┬──────────────────────────┘ │ Internal Network Only ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Whonix-Gateway │ │ (Tor relay) │ │ - Routes all traffic through Tor │ │ - No applications run here │ │ - Workstation cannot bypass Tor │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ Why this matters: ...

Goal Understand why physical security is critical for complete operational security and learn the principles of airgapped system architecture. Prerequisites: Weeks 1-8 (encryption, GPG, compartmentalization) This is Part 1 of 3 - Covers physical security fundamentals and airgap concepts. 1. Why Physical Security Matters The Digital-Physical Security Gap Most security focuses on digital threats: Malware, phishing, network attacks Encrypted communications Strong passwords and 2FA But physical security failures defeat all of this: ...

Goal Master USB threat mitigation with usbguard, assemble a cypherpunk field kit for operational security, and apply physical security principles to real-world scenarios. Prerequisites: Week 9b (Building Airgapped Systems) This is Part 3 of 3 - Covers USB defense, field operations, and decision-making. 1. USB Threat Mitigation Understanding USB Attacks BadUSB (Firmware Reprogramming): Attacker modifies USB stick firmware → USB identifies as keyboard (HID device) → Types malicious commands at lightning speed → Downloads and executes malware → All bypasses antivirus (it's "legitimate" keyboard input) Rubber Ducky / Bash Bunny: ...