Heya friendos! By the time you receive this newsletter, I’ll be on a little trip. I won’t be working while on vacation, so I wrote this piece in advance. On my trip, I’ll try to take some moments to learn about cyber security. Let’s talk about why!

How Am I Doing?

I’m in a weird place mentally right now. On one hand, I want to stay informed about what’s going on on the global theater right now, because I don’t want to be blindsided when things go south. On the other hand, forcing myself to keep up with the news makes me tired and sad. When I’m tired and sad, I don’t have the energy to actively do anything about the state of the world. It’s a strange cycle, that I’ve yet to find the balance in.

When I’m not tired, I’m angry. The anger at least converts into productivity. Anger motivates me to not sit on my hands. It pushes me to think about what I can do to help the world. But swinging between sadness and anger is not exactly the healthiest state to be in.

I hope I can find some sort of peace. A way to channel anger into productivity, and not let sadness floor me into inaction. I do feel like I’m growing calluses now, so maybe it’s just about getting used to the constant torrent of bad news.

What Am I Doing?

Well, currently, I’m probably taking a hike along the shore of Île-de-Bréhat. Or maybe playing some board games with my brothers and sisters. Or maybe getting drenched in the rain. Either way, I’m chilling with a view like this:

In addition to that, I’ve prepared some cyber security 101 reading to do while I’m away. I’ve been meaning to get acquainted with the world of infosec and hacking. Hacking often gets a reputation for unethical activities, much like lockpicking, but learning about how people can abuse systems gives you the most precious insight on how to protect yourself against it.

We’re giving more and more away of ourselves on the internet and hardly know or even care what happens to our data. That hasn’t sat right with me for a long time, and the potential misuse by oppressive institutions is reaching an all-time high. So I at least want to learn a little more about it.

I’ve compiled some starter resources for myself. If you’re interested in sharing my journey, take a look below. Quick addendum: I haven’t actually used any of these yet, so I can’t necessarily recommend them.

Reading

Some online reading resources about infosec, cybersec and hacking.

• Ethical Hacking Lab’s Infosec 101: A comprehensive starting point for infosec concepts.
• Infosec for Activists: A practical guide for how to be safe on the internet as an activist.
• Microsoft Security 101: A beginner’s technical guide to security concepts by Microsoft.
• darkdefender’s InfoSec 101: A series of blog posts about infosec from a personal perspective.

Classes

These are free online courses and classes with interactive tests and tasks, to help you practice in a safe environment.

• Hacker 101: Bitsize video lessons with an additional offering of Capture the Flag assignments.
• TryHackMe: Introductory lessons with online exams to test your knowledge.
• HacktheBox: Gamified education through interactive hacking assignments.

Games

Board games and digital games that help you understand cyber security concepts while having fun.

• Hacknet: A digital story-based game where you use an actual terminal to access information.
• Backdoors & Breaches: A modular card game where you play simulated scenarios using cards that represent actual real-world hacking techniques.
• Potato Pirates 2: Enter The Spudnet: This ridiculously named board game can be played versus and co-op, all the while teaching cyber security concepts.

Why Am I Doing? (this)

The world is becoming increasingly unstable. It feels like standing by and living life like I’m used to won’t be enough soon. At some point, we’re going to have to fight against institutions that erode human rights. There are many other grim scenarios also looming on the horizon. When any of that actually happens, I want to be prepared. I want to be able to provide real, tangible support to groups in need. I think infosec and crisis gaming are the ways for me to do that.

In the best case scenario, nothing crazy will happen and I’ve learned some valuable skills and a wider understanding of how our digital world works!