A very private Xmas

We’re excited to be running our last Rebel School of the year: Security Culture & Digital Privacy which seems quite apt on the day that Labor teamed up with the Liberals to smash through more over the top Surveillance legislation on the last sitting day of the year – allowing search and detention for people as young as 14, and extensive powers criticised by GetUp, the Law Society and othes.

We are hoping that some folks might take time in their holidays to maybe do some life admin, and some security updates, and think about getting into some good habits next year.

As activists we are monitored, and its always the case for much discussion – how much? How? Why? Am I exciting enough to have an ASIO file – why not?

We know and have been part of groups that have had police spies embedded, and corporate spies. We know they monitor our groups and data but we just don’t know how much. So we will be running a session to get into some security hygiene and explain how security culture can be better developed in your group.

This session will be led by the decidedly non geeky, Nicola Paris who has heaps of on ground experience with groups using open and closed organising models, and various levels of secure practices. She has been forced to learn this stuff and reckons you can too. And CounterAct is thrilled to be joined by Kathryn Gledhill-Tucker who is a Nyungar woman building tech on unceded Whadjuk Noongar boodjar.

Kat is a digital rights activist serving on the board of Electronic Frontiers Australia, campaigning for online privacy and believes increasing technical literacy in our wider community will keep us from falling into dystopia. She is bringing the full geek skills and is also going to lead us in a discussion about how we can decolonise tech and bring this thinking into all our work better.

Here are some resources already on our site, and we will bring you what’s new.