CryptoHarlem

Last updated

CryptoHarlem
Formation2013
FoundersMatt Mitchell
Founded atNew York, New York
Headquarters New York
Productsanti-surveillance, cybersecurity education and advocacy
Founder
Matt Mitchell
Website

CryptoHarlem is a nonprofit, anti-surveillance, cybersecurity education and advocacy organization. Founded by Matt Mitchell in 2013, CryptoHarlem provides the predominantly African American community in upper Manhattan with free workshops on digital security, encryption, privacy, cryptography, digital policing and surveillance. [1] [2]

Contents

History

CryptoHarlem was founded following the Trayvon Martin murder trial. Initially a series of security workshops, Mitchell said he founded the organization “due to the feeling of profound loss, the loss of all black folks, after Trayvon Martin’s death.” [3] Monthly digital privacy clinics called "crypto parties" hosted by Mitchell and CryptoHarlem started in 2012. [4]

In 2017 the organization's name appeared as an Easter egg in an episode of Mr. Robot. [5] [6]

In 2017, CryptoHarlem developed an open source tool to help organizations prepare for data breaches. The now-defunct site hosting the tool, ProtectYour.Org, was supported by the Mozilla Fellowship and the Ford Foundation. [7] [8] [5] Calyx Institute has sponsored CryptoHarlem and its Crypto Parties since 2019. [9] [10]

The ACLU and CryptoHarlem have worked together on issues related to surveillance and privacy legislation, including the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act of 2020. [11]

In 2021, Newsweek profiled Mitchell and CryptoHarlem as one of "America's greatest disruptors" for their work against "digital stop and frisk". [11] The Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded Mitchell and CryptoHarlem with a Pioneer Award and hosted a discussion of their work. [3]

In 2022, Mitchell, representing CryptoHarlem, was an invited speaker on "Easy Fixes for Algorithmic Bias" at The Barnard College Diversity in Computing Speaker Series. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Encryption</span> Process of converting plaintext to ciphertext

In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decipher a ciphertext back to plaintext and access the original information. Encryption does not itself prevent interference but denies the intelligible content to a would-be interceptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Zimmermann</span> Creator of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)

Philip R. Zimmermann is an American computer scientist and cryptographer. He is the creator of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), the most widely used email encryption software in the world. He is also known for his work in VoIP encryption protocols, notably ZRTP and Zfone. Zimmermann is co-founder and Chief Scientist of the global encrypted communications firm Silent Circle.

A cypherpunk is any individual advocating widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. Originally communicating through the Cypherpunks electronic mailing list, informal groups aimed to achieve privacy and security through proactive use of cryptography. Cypherpunks have been engaged in an active movement since at least the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Facial recognition system</span> Technology capable of matching a face from an image against a database of faces

A facial recognition system is a technology potentially capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verification services, and works by pinpointing and measuring facial features from a given image.

Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is a Washington, D.C.–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation that advocates for digital rights and freedom of expression. CDT seeks to promote legislation that enables individuals to use the internet for purposes of well-intent, while at the same time reducing its potential for harm. It advocates for transparency, accountability, and limiting the collection of personal information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Privacy International</span>

Privacy International (PI) is a UK-based registered charity that defends and promotes the right to privacy across the world. First formed in 1990, registered as a non-profit company in 2002 and as a charity in 2012, PI is based in London. Its current executive director, since 2012, is Dr Gus Hosein.

Cryptovirology refers to the use of cryptography to devise particularly powerful malware, such as ransomware and asymmetric backdoors. Traditionally, cryptography and its applications are defensive in nature, and provide privacy, authentication, and security to users. Cryptovirology employs a twist on cryptography, showing that it can also be used offensively. It can be used to mount extortion based attacks that cause loss of access to information, loss of confidentiality, and information leakage, tasks which cryptography typically prevents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Merrill</span> Free speech and privacy advocate

Nicholas Merrill is an American system administrator, computer programmer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Calyx Internet Access, an Internet and hosted service provider founded in 1995, and of the non-profit Calyx Institute. He was the first person to file a constitutional challenge against the National Security Letters statute in the USA PATRIOT Act and consequently the first person to have a National Security Letter gag order completely lifted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tails (operating system)</span> Linux distribution for anonymity and privacy

Tails, or "The Amnesic Incognito Live System," is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity. It connects to the Internet exclusively through the anonymity network Tor. The system is designed to be booted as a live DVD or live USB and never writes to the hard drive or SSD, leaving no digital footprint on the machine unless explicitly told to do so. It can also be run as a virtual machine, with some additional security risks. The Tor Project provided financial support for its development in the beginnings of the project, and continues to do so alongside numerous corporate and anonymous sponsors.

Litecoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open-source software project released under the MIT/X11 license. Inspired by Bitcoin, Litecoin was among the earliest altcoins, starting in October 2011. In technical details, the Litecoin main chain shares a slightly modified Bitcoin codebase. The practical effects of those codebase differences are lower transaction fees, faster transaction confirmations, and faster mining difficulty retargeting. Due to its underlying similarities to Bitcoin, Litecoin has historically been referred to as the "silver to Bitcoin's gold." In 2022, Litecoin added optional privacy features via soft fork through the MWEB upgrade.

The Calyx Institute is a New York-based 501(c)(3) research and education nonprofit organization formed to make privacy and digital security more accessible. It was founded in 2010 by Nicholas Merrill, Micah Anderson, and Kobi Snitz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Library Freedom Project</span>

The Library Freedom Project teaches librarians about surveillance threats, privacy rights, and digital tools to thwart surveillance. In 2015 the Project began an endeavour to place relays and, particularly, exit nodes of the Tor anonymity network in public libraries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Bankston</span> American activist and attorney

Kevin Stuart Bankston is an American activist and attorney, who specialized in the areas of free speech and privacy law. He is currently Privacy Policy Director at Facebook, where he leads policy work on AI and emerging technologies. He was formerly the director of the Open Technology Institute (OTI) at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Whittaker</span> American artificial intelligence research scientist

Meredith Whittaker is the president of the Signal Foundation and serves on their board of directors. She was formerly the Minderoo Research Professor at New York University (NYU), and the co-founder and faculty director of the AI Now Institute. She also served as a senior advisor on AI to Chair Lina Khan at the Federal Trade Commission. Whittaker was employed at Google for 13 years, where she founded Google's Open Research group and co-founded the M-Lab. In 2018, she was a core organizer of the Google Walkouts and resigned from the company in July 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Angwin</span> American investigative journalist

Julia Angwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist, New York Times bestselling author, and entrepreneur. She was a co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the impact of technology on society. She was a senior reporter at ProPublica from 2014 to April 2018 and staff reporter at the New York bureau of The Wall Street Journal from 2000 to 2013. Angwin is author of non-fiction books, Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America (2009) and Dragnet Nation (2014). She is a winner and two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 surveillance</span> Measures to monitor the spread of the respiratory disease

COVID-19 surveillance involves monitoring the spread of the coronavirus disease in order to establish the patterns of disease progression. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends active surveillance, with focus of case finding, testing and contact tracing in all transmission scenarios. COVID-19 surveillance is expected to monitor epidemiological trends, rapidly detect new cases, and based on this information, provide epidemiological information to conduct risk assessment and guide disease preparedness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algorithmic Justice League</span> Digital advocacy non-profit organization

The Algorithmic Justice League (AJL) is a digital advocacy non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 2016 by computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, the AJL uses research, artwork, and policy advocacy to increase societal awareness regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in society and the harms and biases that AI can pose to society. The AJL has engaged in a variety of open online seminars, media appearances, and tech advocacy initiatives to communicate information about bias in AI systems and promote industry and government action to mitigate against the creation and deployment of biased AI systems. In 2021, Fast Company named AJL as one of the 10 most innovative AI companies in the world.

CalyxOS is an operating system for smartphones based on Android with mostly free and open-source software. It is produced by the Calyx Institute as part of its mission to "defend online privacy, security and accessibility."

Automated decision-making (ADM) involves the use of data, machines and algorithms to make decisions in a range of contexts, including public administration, business, health, education, law, employment, transport, media and entertainment, with varying degrees of human oversight or intervention. ADM involves large-scale data from a range of sources, such as databases, text, social media, sensors, images or speech, that is processed using various technologies including computer software, algorithms, machine learning, natural language processing, artificial intelligence, augmented intelligence and robotics. The increasing use of automated decision-making systems (ADMS) across a range of contexts presents many benefits and challenges to human society requiring consideration of the technical, legal, ethical, societal, educational, economic and health consequences.

Gaggle is a software primarily used in American K-12 school districts. Its services include Gaggle Therapy & Coaching, a service that connects students with licensed counselors in their state for teletherapy.

References

  1. Simonite, Tom. "CryptoHarlem's Founder Warns Against 'Digital Stop and Frisk'". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  2. "CryptoHarlem - Calyx Institute". calyxinstitute.org. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Kelley, Jason (October 7, 2021). "Pioneer Awards Ceremony 2021 Recap: Privacy Defenders Unite". Electronic Frontier Foundation (in Spanish). Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  4. "Security Pros, Librarians Holding Digital Privacy Clinics Across U.S." Consumer Reports. June 28, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "CryptoHarlem Is Teaching Digital Security to the Over-Surveilled Black Community". www.vice.com. March 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  6. "CryptoHarlem". CryptoHarlem. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  7. "Matt Mitchell of CryptoHarlem is building an open source tool to help organizations prepare for data breaches". TechCrunch. June 6, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  8. "protectyourorg.com". December 27, 2018. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  9. "CryptoHarlem Party Tomorrow! - Calyx Institute". calyxinstitute.org. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  10. "CryptoHarlem is back and ready for action! - Calyx Institute". calyxinstitute.org. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Newsweek Staff (December 15, 2021). "America's Greatest Disruptors: Enterprising idealists using leading-edge technology to solve social and community challenges". Newsweek. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  12. "Diversity in Computing: Matt Mitchell (CryptoHarlem & Ford Foundation) on Easy Fixes for Algorithmic Bias | Barnard Computational Science Center". csc.barnard.edu. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.