Cypherpunks  (English, Paperback, Assange Julian)

Cypherpunks: Freedom And The Future Of The Internet emphasizes on the importance of cypherpunks in protecting the future world of the Internet.

Summary Of The Book

Cypherpunks is a term used to denote activists who support the use of strong forms of cryptography to protect individuals from cyber attacks conducted by international spying agencies. The cypherpunks movement has been active since the 1990s and Julian Assange has been an important face in the movement.

Cypherpunks: Freedom And The Future Of The Internet is an attempt to strengthen the voice of this movement. The book discusses how online users can reduce their vulnerability to cyber attacks. It focusses on the relation between the society and Internet security. The book clearly explains how control on the Internet by the government and corporates is a threat to our freedom and fundamental rights. It is a wake up call against the probability of a dystopian future. The authors express concern over the fact that the state has begun using hacking as a tool for policing and that the world is slowly heading towards a totalitarian state. They suggest using strong cryptography to protect one’s personal data against surveillance from the state.

Cypherpunks: Freedom And The Future Of The Internet, as Julian Assange describes, is not a manifesto. The book has been written as a warning to the users of the Internet. Since encryption is easy, but decryption requires a huge commitment of funds and time, it is the only viable and the most feasible option available to the users of the Internet to prevent themselves against the onslaught by the government.

About The Authors

Jeremie Zimmermann is the spokesperson of a Paris based group that advocates provision of fundamental freedom for Internet users.

He received the EFF Pioneer Award in 2012.

Andy Muller-Maguhn is a German hacker and spokesperson of the Chaos Computer Club. He founded Data Travel Agency.

He has served on the Board of the European Digital Rights Institution, a Non-government organization that works for the rights of the people in the digital era. He has served as a director of the ICANN between 2002 and 2004.

Julian Assange is the famous Editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, an organization that is actively involved in exposing secret information of organisations all over the world.

He has co-written Underground, a book based on the history of international hacking groups.

He was born and brought up in Australia and was a hacker during his teenage years. He won the Amnesty International UK Media Award (New Media), the 2011 Walkley Award, and the 2011 Martha Gellhorn Prize. He has been one of the earliest contributors to the mailing list for cypherpunks and has created various software projects in line with the concept of cypherpunks.

Jacob Appelbaum is a researcher in computer security and a hacker.

He represented Wikileaks at the HOPE Conference in 2010. He has worked at the University of Washington and with the Tor Project as well. Appelbaum has been detained by the agencies of law enforcement in the United States several times. Since 2008, he has been a member of the Cult Of The Dead Cow Hacker community. He has also delivered lectures at the 22nd Chaos Communication Congress.