Rebels should consider taking positive steps to thwart monitoring

Author: Joe Rebel

New technology applied by the fascist occupational government seeks to maintain awareness of all political activity within the occupied territories of the United States.  The Resistance suggests that rebels take positive steps to thwart automatic government surveillance.  The Information Awareness Office employs technologies seeking to link information across databases.  Only methodical application of our suggested techniques will improve your anonymity.  If knowledge is power then the converse is true: ignorance is weakness.  The goal in all confrontation is to weaken the opponent.  By denying the opponent knowledge, this goal is advanced.

Steps you should employ to confuse the opponent:

	Invent a separate identity for each resistance group in which you participate.  Unless you are questioned, supplying an invented name should be adequate.  You can be honest with your comrades and inform them that you are using a fake identity.  Explain to them that they should do the same.  Maintaining a separate identity for each group of which you are a member will make it difficult for infiltrators and spies to cross reference your identity across groups.
	Choose an identity that uses common names.  This will make attempts to libel your identity more difficult.  For example, if you use common names, an Internet search will bring up too many pages to narrow down published information associated with your chosen identity.  COINTELPRO-like operations currently in play are using the Internet to libel activists.  Before using a new identity, do a search on Google, using the chosen name.  If it brings up a large number of links, then the chosen name passes the common-name test.  If few links are found, the name is uncommon and subject to effective Internet libel.  Such uncommon names should not be used.
	Organize geographically.  Plan meeting times and dates and stick to them.  Post meeting times in a public place.  This will help you avoid the need for telephone and online communication of meeting times, dates, and locations.  This may help you to avoid maintaining telephone number lists as well.  If privacy is needed, construct a method for obscuring the actually intent of the public announcement such that only members of your group will understand the correct interpretation of the announcement.
	Stop purchasing items with credit cards and debit cards.  Use cash whenever possible.  Do not use supermarket discount cards unless you obtain one using a false name and address.  If possible, obtain multiple supermarket discount cards for each supermarket under different identities and select a card randomly for each purchase event.
	While hiding one's face may seem cowardly to some, there is a good reason for doing so.  Police and military have been photographing demonstrators.  The Information Awareness Office is developing technology to identify individuals at a distance.  We suggest using a bandana or cloth to cover your face when demonstrating.  You should cover your nose and mouth.  Face recognition technology depends greatly upon the portion of the face extending from the mouth up to the eyes.  Covering your mouth and nose will help to defeat these mechanisms.  Covering the eyes is less important.
	When photographers take your picture during a demonstration, do not assume that they are members of the press.  Recent protests have included extensive photography of protestors where "journalists" have asked for protestors names.  Later scrutiny of the press has revealed that more often than not, no pictures of the demonstrators appear.  This leads to the obvious question: are these really members of the press taking our photographs?  Given that the corporate press has not covered anti-war activities in recent years to any measurable extent, we should not sacrifice our anonymity for a false sense of publicity.  If you choose to give a name to a photographer, give only a false identity.
	Start using encryption for email communications.  We suggest finding a free version of PGP.  Massive use of encryption will make ubiquitous monitoring of electronic mail very difficult.  One of our goals should be to increase the cost of fascism.  Taking such steps will increase the cost of government programs to spy on the Resistance.