Internet privacy and security course
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The shield, the mask and the sword: why we are teaching you to attack

Chapter 4

The shield, the mask and the sword: why we are teaching you to attack

In this training course, we will teach you both to protect yourself and also to attack, that is to break into other machines and revel others’ identity. This may well be the most controversial part of our job, and the hardest one from both ethical and legal perspective. We have however made our decision, and are going to teach you to do it; and this will be part of your self-protection, perhaps its crucial part.

 We are convinced that for as long as you don’t know how to use a sword, you won’t be able to efficiently use a shield either. It would be better if you first break into your own accounts, see how it all works, and only then determine your security settings. Better you break up your anonymity than others do it. Many users still tend to innocently think: ‘what is it about the IP address? I am not hiding anyway”. Such users would particularly benefit from using their own IP address and attacking their own devices, so as to get access to their web-cam, or personal information, or their communication in social media, and follow the activities of their own browser. 

We are living at a time when everything we do, and all our contacts, communication and interests find way into the Internet. So it is no less important to be protected there than in your offline space. The skills, knowledge and experience you are going to get from this course will constitute an indispensable basis of your online security, while the anonymity skills would enable you to use a virtual mask, for online as well as offline it is practically impossible to strike until you know where your opponent is, as it is impossible to measure the strength of the opponent without seeing them. It is impossible to understand their intentions, or predict their actions. You have the right to use a mask, regardless of what other people think of it.

 You should be able not only to select your security settings, but also to test their efficiency. And they can’t be tested via a check list ‘this is done / this isn’t done”.  The way to test it is to run a trial attack, e.g. scan your system and Wi-Fi router in search for vulnerabilities using a real-life tool an offender would use, or try an ARP-spoofing attack against yourself.

One other crucial use of sword is direct offence, which is well known to be the best defense. Many offenders feel immune from any punishment in the Internet, as most users don’t know how to protect themselves online. You should however tear the masks from such offenders, revealing their identity, and then make them face law enforcement machine. This is security as we see it. One can build up tough walls of a well-protected system, well-tuned firewall, a Double VPN with leaks prevention (and we will teach you how to do all of it too), but, again, what’s the point of a shield, if there is no sword behind it?

 One thing we are asking of you: please never use these skills for purposes other than your own protection; and never break the law. We have invested quite a bit of effort into preparing this training course, and we would want to believe that this training will be only used for fair purposes.

It may happen, that some of the methods and tools suggested herein are illegal in your country. We strongly recommend that you get legal advice before using them. Please enjoy your training. I expect that having completed this course, you will reappear in the internet equipped with a shield, a sword, and a mask.

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