How would you write a journal/diary with the adversaries being both the people you live with AND your government?
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Keep it just in your head until Elon Musk forces Neural link on everyone, then you're fucked.
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Digital with strong encryption, and protect the device so that it can't be copied while unlocked. You're probably not so important that they'd target you.
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Write a paper journal in a cypher only you know?
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Typewriter with UV reactive ink would stop a cursory local glance, and could start a new hobby.
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Digital with strong encryption, and protect the device so that it can't be copied while unlocked. You're probably not so important that they'd target you.
You’re probably not so important that they’d target you.
Not actively, of course. I'm talking about when the authorities one day want to retroactively dig through stuff to find dirt.
The threat would be that they do a targeted attack for 72 hours before they apprehend me.
(Not that the lack of evidence would stop them from trying, but the less info they get, the better chance I have)
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Dedicated, airgapped (not internet connected) device with strong password.
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Keep it just in your head until Elon Musk forces Neural link on everyone, then you're fucked.
They took black mirror as an instruction manual...
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Use TAILS on a USB drive, and keep the USB drive somewhere nobody would think of looking. Underneath the tissues in an open box, buried in a jar outside, or just on a keyring unless you're worried about being taken in yourself
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Can you keep the paper journal in a locked drawer? Will your homies seriously try to break in or pick the lock? Could you use a non-networked computer (old laptop) to encrypt the files, and lock that in a drawer?
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Either in a locked FOSS program like Trilium or a physical notebook. I censor myself more in the physical notebook but also I write a ton of random thoughts in it so the chances of them reading a political thought surrounded by 100s of daily to dos and random server thoughts is low.
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Write everything in digital form ... use text only because it's easier to archive, manage, organize and refer to in the future
Encrypt as much as you can and keep a copy locally and in as much safe keeping and off line as much as possible whenever and however you can.
I wouldn't worry about having the state come after you and use the information against you ... or worry too much about intelligence agencies cracking your encryption and reading all your writing .... really .. who cares because if the state does want to come after you, they wouldn't care what evidence was available ... a journal might make their case easier but in the long run, they wouldn't care any way.
I would think about the journal and writing from an archival point of view. You're not writing and creating all that content for yourself ... you're writing and creating it for future generations to see and read. Sure, it might get destroyed or erased ... but it also might have a chance of being stored, shared, archived and rediscovered in the future. It would be like reading journals and content written by people before the first or second world wars and historians would gain a valuable insight into the minds of people during our time period. The information we produce now doesn't matter much to anyone right now whether for good or bad reasons ... the information we create now will mean so much more to people far into the future.
So go ahead .... write, write often and write as much as you can ... the more you write, the more you leave behind for someone in the future to find.
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
When I was a teen it wasn't the government I was afraid of, but digital devices were just as likely to be read as paper. What I did was keep anything I needed to be private at school, work, a friend's. Is any of that an option? Would a super old laptop with a fresh OS that you never connect to the internet be safe in your home?
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
Digitally create an encryption method.
Hand write the journal using that encryption method -
A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
if you have legitimate concerns about the government coming after you, you simply do not keep a diary. At all. Not even one where you promise not to write anything incriminating.
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
If you're just worried about people you live with and passive scan type stuff I'd do a LUKS flash drive and a txt file. If you are worried about more active stuff from 3 letters then I still think digital is going to be the best bet, but you'd better use qubes or even dedicate an airgapped computer with an encrypted drive but even that is iffy for a serious anti gov threat model.
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if you have legitimate concerns about the government coming after you, you simply do not keep a diary. At all. Not even one where you promise not to write anything incriminating.
I'm not sure if I have a legitimate concern. I have never attended a protest (too scared) and I never had any large online presence. I don't even show my name or face on the internet. I don't have any wikipedia pages.
So... maybe I'm just over-cautious...
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access
A digital journal doesn't need to be any more government-accessible than a paper journal.
Depending on your threat model, this could require special hardware, special software, or both. In order of ease of setup, I would suggest:
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Keep all your data on your own physical media. No cloud services, period.
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Keep it encrypted.
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Disable network connectivity at every level that you possibly can, such as:
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OS level: disabling wi-fi, disable blutooth, and disable networking entirely.
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Firmware/BIOS level: If you BIOS has options to disable networking components (especially wireless ones), do that.
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Hardware level: If your laptop has a switch to disable wi-fi, use it. If ethernet, unplug the cable. Etc.
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Physical level: Remove any removable wireless cards or antennas.
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Wallet level: buy a computer than never had wi-fi or bluetooth in the first place. This could mean a retro computer, or could mean using a micro-pc like some models of Raspberry Pi.
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A paper-only journal would defend against the state, but not against people you live with. A digital journal can be encrypted, but an intelligence agency could potentially gain access (like, them reading your anti-government rants that may involve violence... that sort of stuff).
So... how to defend against both threats?
(Also, I just realized, paper journals cannot really be easily backed up...)
A physical journal written in a secret code
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Digital with strong encryption, and protect the device so that it can't be copied while unlocked. You're probably not so important that they'd target you.
Security only works if you use it before you become a target.
