Why should I need privacy and security on the Internet?
There is nothing wrong with wanting to preserve your anonymity online. Almost every user wants to protect the privacy of their personal life and their correspondence — and that is absolutely normal. After all, it often happens that internet providers and online services, driven by the lure of illegal profit, use confidential user information for their own purposes, selling and reselling it to third parties. In the best case, this leads to intrusive advertising; in the worst case, it may turn you into a victim of hackers, extortionists, or online scammers. That’s why, when using a computer or a smartphone, the first thing you should ensure is your own anonymity on the Internet.
Preventing the Consequences of Cyberwars
According to information published by Edward Snowden, specialists at the U.S. National Security Agency believe that the next major international conflict will take place in cyberspace — and preparations for it must begin today.
So, the United States (and not only the United States) is preparing for cyberwar. Available information suggests that the main objectives of such a conflict will be disabling key infrastructure of the adversary (electricity supply, water supply, banking systems, communication channels, military facilities). To achieve this, a continuous search for vulnerabilities and attack tools is underway. And those tools are — us. Or more precisely, our devices.
Thus, if you are, for example, an employee of a thermal power plant, an editor of a major magazine, a system administrator at an internet provider, or an employee of a mobile carrier store, and you have access to certain information — or may soon obtain it — you instantly become a target for surveillance and a potential tool for system attacks or data extraction. Unfortunately, this is reality.
Preventing Surveillance for Religious or Political Reasons
Persecution based on religious or political grounds is a serious issue affecting many countries and regions globally. In some parts of the world, “undesirable” individuals are held in special camps where they face propaganda, torture, violence, and forced sterilization.
See also: Mass Surveillance Systems.
Freedom of Expression
Online anonymity allows you to express your opinions, criticism, ideas, creativity, and other aspects of your identity without fearing censorship, discrimination, violence, punishment, or simply unwanted attention.
These days, scientists may face discrimination, threats, pressure, dismissal, or other negative consequences because of their research or published findings. Climate scientists encounter threats, espionage, and organized disinformation campaigns. Biologists face attacks, vandalism, and lawsuits because of their work on genetically modified organisms.
Research, Learning, and Entertainment
Every day, governments censor tons of content they deem “harmful.” For example, in Saudi Arabia, all opposition resources, international human rights websites, social networks, and popular messengers are blocked. LGBTQ+ websites and various religious resources that do not promote official Islam are censored as well.
In China, practically nothing remains accessible except what is controlled by Beijing. Gmail has been repeatedly blocked; major social networks and international news outlets are unavailable. The Chinese Internet is steadily moving from a “blacklist” approach (everything allowed except for explicitly prohibited content) to a “whitelist” system (only what is explicitly permitted will be accessible).
It is also important to note that in some countries governments have the legal right to partially or completely shut down the Internet or mobile communications either nationwide or in specific regions.
For example, India adopted a law this year outlining this procedure. One of the primary justifications for such shutdowns is “national security.” Several Indian states have experienced complete outages of 2G, 3G, 4G, CDMA, and GPRS services for several days at a time.
Similar measures are taken in Ethiopia and Iraq during exam periods to prevent cheating. In some African countries, the Internet is shut down during elections to reduce the likelihood of protests. Ethnic unrest in western China once led to a complete shutdown of the Internet in Xinjiang for ten months.
Censorship is not only a tool for restricting regular users — it is a proven weapon of pressure. The owner of an online media outlet or blog may receive a warning that publishing “undesirable” content will result in blacklisting, losing the audience, losing advertisers, and ultimately — losing income. Under such pressure, they will not publish what they truly think.
Will Online Anonymity Remain Possible in the Future?
It is already nearly impossible to ensure complete anonymity — even for hackers, and certainly not all of them. Today, if a government becomes interested in you, anonymity becomes irrelevant: hiding or not hiding won’t change much.
Governments around the world are attempting to introduce mandatory identification of Internet users through real data such as a passport, phone number, or email address. According to politicians, the purpose is to combat online abuse: misinformation, hate, threats, extremism, terrorism, and other crimes.
Critics argue that these initiatives violate anonymity rights, free speech, and online privacy — and pose risks to vulnerable groups such as activists, journalists, opposition members, minorities, and others.
Legislative Measures Against Anonymity (Russia and Abroad)
In Russia, the first attempts to eliminate online anonymity at the legislative level began in 2013.
Federal Law No. 97-FZ (May 5, 2014) — the “Bloggers Law” — required users whose pages or sites receive more than 3,000 daily visitors to disclose their full name and email address. It also imposed restrictions on pseudonyms and anonymous comments.
In 2017, Federal Law No. 276-FZ (“Messenger Law”) required messenger operators to identify users by phone number and to provide their data upon request by authorities.
In 2019, Federal Law No. 31-FZ (“Sovereign Internet Law”) introduced centralized management of internet traffic in Russia and required telecom operators to install special equipment for filtering and blocking content.
In 2020, Federal Law No. 482-FZ banned anonymous payment systems such as Qiwi or Yandex.Money for topping up online gaming wallets. Federal Law No. 519-FZ (“Social Networks Law”) mandated social networks to remove prohibited content within 24 hours and identify users by phone number.
In 2021, Federal Law No. 90-FZ prohibited insulting state symbols, government institutions, and officials online.
Other countries have similar measures.
China has required real-name registration for social networks and messengers since 2017.
Germany’s 2020 legislation requires social networks to remove illegal content within 24 hours and provide data about authors.
In the U.S., a bill proposed in 2021 aims to ban anonymous or pseudonymous social media accounts altogether.
Whether anonymity will be possible in the future remains an open question. On one hand, technological progress may offer new tools for masking user data and encrypting traffic. On the other hand, the same progress massively increases the capabilities of governments, corporations, hackers, and others to collect, analyze, crack, and unmask users’ identities, interests, locations, and behaviors.
Developments in Online Anonymity
“Cult of the Dead Cow” and Their Encrypted Protocol
Cult of the Dead Cow — one of the earliest hacktivist groups, founded back in 1984 — announced yesterday that they are launching a new encrypted protocol on their official website. The protocol, named Veilid, is a promising tool for building applications.
Modern internet platforms almost universally rely on advertising models that inherently limit user privacy. Veilid offers an alternative: an open-source application framework centered on personal data protection.
According to the group, Veilid is “an open-source peer-to-peer application framework for mobile devices with a flagship secure messaging app called VeilidChat.”
Such frameworks are flexible and allow easy modification and extension. Developers building privacy-focused applications can use Veilid’s open-source code as a foundation.
“People should be able to build relationships, learn, create, and work online without being monetized. With Veilid, users control everything — and it’s accessible to everyone, regardless of technical skills.”
The group states that their protocol is built on the same digital foundation as the Tor browser and the Signal messenger. It is designed for new methods of communication, file sharing, and secure browsing — all with a focus on privacy.
The core idea is to give users the ability to escape constant data collection and the “surveillance capitalism” underlying most online interactions.
Over nearly 40 years, Cult of the Dead Cow has released many free software projects, and its members include influential figures in tech and beyond — from Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, former Twitter security chief, to former U.S. presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke.
“It’s rare to find things that don’t sell your data. We’re giving people an option to opt out of the data economy. Give people back control of their data — and to hell with those who got rich selling personal information.”
Caitlin Bowden, active member of the group and contributor to Veilid.
Microsoft’s “Secure Future” Initiative
Microsoft announced the launch of its new “Secure Future” initiative, promising stronger built-in security across its products and platforms to protect customers from escalating cyberthreats.
As cyberattacks grow in speed, scale, and sophistication, Microsoft President Brad Smith stated:
“The rising velocity, scale, and complexity of cyberattacks require a new approach.”
Microsoft’s cybercrime division tracked the activity of 123 advanced ransomware groups offering data theft and encryption services. According to the company’s report, ransomware attacks increased by more than 200% in the past year.
Password-based attacks have grown even more dramatically — from around 3 billion monthly attempts to 30 billion.
Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed that Chinese hackers stole more than 60,000 emails from U.S. State Department accounts after breaching the Exchange cloud mail platform.
The new initiative emphasizes automation and AI-driven software development, unified identity management, and accelerating security update cycles in the cloud.
Birdcalls: The World’s First Anonymous Video Call Phone Booth
A virtual phone booth for encrypted video calls has appeared online. The service — theinternetphonebooth.com — is a gateway to Birdcalls, a new privacy-focused communication platform.
Sunny Allen, the founder of Birdcalls, calls it “the digital equivalent of a phone booth,” offering one-click video calls up to 45 minutes long with full end-to-end encryption.
Birdcalls is more than just a virtual booth — it is a full-featured confidential video call service with screenshot and recording protection. According to Allen, the platform collects only the minimal data required for operation. Birdcalls keeps no information about who used the booth.
More than a thousand calls have already been made, totaling over 100,000 minutes.
Allen believes the future of the Internet lies in privacy. She predicts that DuckDuckGo may seriously challenge Google, and ProtonMail could take users away from Gmail. Birdcalls’ mission is to create a space where people can communicate without fear of data leaks.
Using her analogy:
“Using regular video calls is like pretending not to notice someone peeking through your window. We’re offering curtains and locks for your digital home. This is the right way to communicate online.”
