Audiobook4 hours
Obfuscation: A User's Guide for Privacy and Protest
Written by Finn Brunton and Helen Nissenbaum
Narrated by Dana Hickox
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
With Obfuscation, Finn Brunton and Helen Nissenbaum mean to start a revolution. They are calling us not to the barricades but to our computers, offering us ways to fight today's pervasive digital surveillance -- the collection of our data by governments, corporations, advertisers, and hackers. To the toolkit of privacy protecting techniques and projects, they propose adding obfuscation: the deliberate use of ambiguous, confusing, or misleading information to interfere with surveillance and data collection projects. Brunton and Nissenbaum provide tools and a rationale for evasion, noncompliance, refusal, even sabotage -- especially for average users, those of us not in a position to opt out or exert control over data about ourselves. Obfuscation will teach users to push back, software developers to keep their user data safe, and policy makers to gather data without misusing it.
Brunton and Nissenbaum present a guide to the forms and formats that obfuscation has taken and explain how to craft its implementation to suit the goal and the adversary. They describe a series of historical and contemporary examples, including radar chaff deployed by World War II pilots, Twitter bots that hobbled the social media strategy of popular protest movements, and software that can camouflage users' search queries and stymie online advertising. They go on to consider obfuscation in more general terms, discussing why obfuscation is necessary, whether it is justified, how it works, and how it can be integrated with other privacy practices and technologies.
Brunton and Nissenbaum present a guide to the forms and formats that obfuscation has taken and explain how to craft its implementation to suit the goal and the adversary. They describe a series of historical and contemporary examples, including radar chaff deployed by World War II pilots, Twitter bots that hobbled the social media strategy of popular protest movements, and software that can camouflage users' search queries and stymie online advertising. They go on to consider obfuscation in more general terms, discussing why obfuscation is necessary, whether it is justified, how it works, and how it can be integrated with other privacy practices and technologies.
Related to Obfuscation
Related audiobooks
Cyber Privacy: Who Has Your Data and Why You Should Care Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Security Culture Playbook: An Executive Guide To Reducing Risk and Developing Your Human Defense Layer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Well Aware: Master the Nine Cybersecurity Habits to Protect Your Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Have Root: Even More Advice from Schneier on Security Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Exposed: How Revealing Your Data and Eliminating Privacy Increases Trust and Liberates Humanity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cybercrime Investigators Handbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZero Trust and Third-Party Risk: Reduce the Blast Radius Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings8 Steps to Better Security: A Simple Cyber Resilience Guide for Business Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5CYBERSECURITY FOR BEGINNERS: HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST HACKERS & MALWARE Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5HACKING: How to Hack Web Apps Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You CAN Stop Stupid: Stopping Losses from Accidental and Malicious Actions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHack Your Way to Security Bundle, 2 in 1 Bundle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Leader's Guide to Cybersecurity: Why Boards Need to Lead-And How to Do It Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHacking for Beginners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The New Normal in IT: How the Global Pandemic Changed Information Technology Forever Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHACKING: Hacking Firewalls & Bypassing Honeypots Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why Privacy Matters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cyber-Elephant In The Boardroom: Cyber-Accountability With The Five Pillars Of Security Framework Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cyber Conundrum: How Do We Fix Cybersecurity? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cybersecurity Career Master Plan: Proven techniques and effective tips to help you advance in your cybersecurity career Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCryptography: The Key to Digital Security, How It Works, and Why It Matters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Facing Cyber Threats Head On: Protecting Yourself and Your Business Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hackable: How to Do Application Security Right Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorm: The First Digital World War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breaking and Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called "Alien" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Vulnerable System: The History of Information Security in the Computer Age Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime—from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Internet & Web For You
The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The YouTube Formula: How Anyone Can Unlock the Algorithm to Drive Views, Build an Audience, and Grow Revenue Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everybody Has a Podcast (Except You): A How-To Guide from the First Family of Podcasting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be Fine: What We Learned by Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Podcast: The Ultimate Guide To Podcasting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future: The Ingenious Ideas That Drive Today's Computers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/530 Passive Income Ideas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Body to Love: Cultivate Community, Body Positivity, and Self-Love in the Age of Social Media Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking 2nd Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What is the Dark Web?: The truth about the hidden part of the internet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tor Darknet Bundle (5 in 1): Master the Art of Invisibility Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Darkest Web: Drugs, Death and Destroyed Lives . . . the Inside Story of the Internet's Evil Twin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Make Noise: A Creator's Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Darknet: A Beginner's Guide to Staying Anonymous Online Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Invisibility Toolkit Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Podcasting for Dummies: 4th Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5AWS: The Complete Beginner to Advanced Guide for Amazon Web Service — The Ultimate Tutorial Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Web3: Charting the Internet's Next Economic and Cultural Frontier Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle for Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Start a Podcast: An Essential Guide to Profitable Podcasting for Beginners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Obfuscation
Rating: 3.7647059058823533 out of 5 stars
4/5
17 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5From the beginning the narrator discusses obsfucation [sic] which is not even a word. This was supposed to be a book about obfuscation so why not pronounce the title of the book correctly? I lost all trust from the beginning when the narrator could not even spell or pronounce the title of the book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The book a collection of starting points for understanding and making use of obfuscation.
It is split into two parts - an analysis of the possible applications of obfuscation and obfuscation as a strategy for privacy protection; the ethical issues obfuscation raises and salient questions to ask of any obfuscation project. The authors took care to emphasize that in addition to privacy, it is not a replacement for one or all of the tools which we already rely on.
There is no simple solution to the problem of privacy, because privacy itself is a solution to societal challenges that are in constant movement. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Title obfuscates the contents. Not a guide. Should be titled: the politics and ethics of obfuscation. Interesting arguments but completely irrelevant to absolutely everyone except academics.