Digitalization: Privacy matters, security matters.

Today there is approximately 5.56 billion internet users in the world, which accounts for 67.9 percent of Earth's population. I would love to develop this topic and get into depth of this pandora box we've opened(invention of the internet), how overwhelming technical progress is, how to deal with it, where things can go, and so on, but in this post I'll try to focus on a different side of this.

Digital technology is everywhere, what do we really know about it?

I consider myself a "computer guy" compared to the general population of my country. When I was a child and a teenager, I always had a feeling that computers and internet were things that only younger people are supposed to understand and use, since lots of adults I encountered were staying away from it, or telling me I was an "alien" when I tried to explain them some computer term that was pretty simple for me. And obviously it was a wrong feeling, digital world was built by adults, just not by "general population". As time passed, internet grew enormously. Teens, children and adults owned smartphones now, had wi-fi hotspots in their homes, cafes and so on. This happened to Ukraine later than to developed countries, with major GSM providers receiving 3G licenses in 2015 after Yanukovich's regime was overthrown.

Nowadays almost everyone owns a smartphone, even seniors do. And from what I can see, an average person has little, if not zero understanding about digital technology, and the older person is, the less they have.

They can connect their device to the internet, download an app, sign up for something, obviously scroll TikToks and whatnot. Doesn't seem something is wrong or bad is happening, right?

Problem is, more and more important things rely on digital technology. Banks are leaving paper operations, hospitals, schools, taxes, and other institutions are looking to digitize almost everything. Governments switch to digital solutions because of its convenience and cost-efficiency, and also... *drum roll* more control.
In a society, where your bank is digital, taxes are digital, healthcare is digital, lots of things come in to play. The most obvious things that older people will struggle with digital technologies, especially given its rapid development. New mechanisms, user-interfaces and so on. But that's not the main part in my opinion.

Main part is that the general population has very low understanding of security concepts in the digital world. Password management, encryption, data management, device management, internet traffic and more. People don't realize how internet works, really. They assume its some magic thing that comes from wi-fi router or internet cable. They probably are not aware that all the information on the internet is stored somewhere, primarily in data centers, and that its just files being exchanged between machines.

They're also unaware of threats, coming from the digital world. Identity theft, malware, scams, phishing and many more. Not only they can become victims of criminals online, they are subject to threats from their governments.

Individuals are unaware of what personal data is, how it is collected, stored and used by their governments or third parties. And governments have departments or even separate special agencies devoted to cybersecurity. So they know all that, and regular people don't.

So what's the big deal?

Big deal is that in the modern world we're extremely reliant on digital technology, internet specifically, and given that internet can be controlled and is controlled in a certain way(depends on where you are) by governments, it creates a huge threat to individual's freedom, privacy, and ultimately, survival.

In countries like Russia, China, North Korea, Iran internet is already restricted heavily. Russian government has obligated all ISPs to keep records of all internet activity of every user for at least 3 months. They try to restrict access to VPNs, Tor Network, and they simply block resources like YouTube where people can get real information about the world. There are also rumours that Russia is developing its "sovereign internet" which will be completely independent from other countries. It's common in Russia to repress someone because of their political views, expressed online. Same goes with other countries on that list, with China taking government surveillance on another level, to be honest.

This means people in those countries are stripped from their rights to privacy and freedom of political expression. They live in fear, knowing their digital communications are being intercepted. Its pure terrorism, and it works.
"They can hear everything" - this is something that could come across a mind of someone living in such a country, leading them to be silent, and leave any attempts to actually learn about privacy and how digital technology works.

"I'm not in those countries, what do I care?" - you might ask. If you're not living in a free country, take this matter seriously.

I'd refer to this - https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege

If your country is not "green" according to that article, I'd start to worry. And even if it is, I consider everyone needs to know more, about how the internet and digital world operates, how to keep privacy and fight government surveillance.

You may trust your government and love your country. But believe me, tables can turn very quickly, and you should be prepared beforehand.

What should we do?

Educate yourself and others, take this matter seriously, and try to spread awareness in your society.

Share information on VPNs, Tor Network, encryption, open-source vs proprietary software, and so on.

Share news relevant to digital privacy and cybersecurity, try to make people care.

And if they don't, take care of yourself and those close to you.

Conclusion

None of us have to be a computer scientists to understand certain concepts, and in today's world it has become a necessity for everyone. Privacy matters, security matters. Most of us, people, are not educated on this matter. But bad guys are, and they are not going to stop.

As a child, I was always told that technical progress and digitalization is great for us. Looking at the world today, I'm not so sure.