Who am I

I am an IT student who is interested in Cybersecurity, Cryptography and Cryptocurrencies. Therefore Steemit is a really interesting platform for me, so I decided to create this account. English is not my native language, but I try to give my best to write correctly. I am happy if somebody corrects my mistakes because I am motivated to learn.

What do I do

I work part-time as a software developer in the data-science field. I am going to finish my bachelors degree soon and after that, I want to switch to the area of Cybersecurity.

Motivation

Data collection and Surveillance

I am using many technologies which are also used to collect huge amounts of user data and to spy on the users (f.e. Google Services, Facebook, Android,...). These technologies are really useful, efficient and easy-to-use. The amount of collected data is an important factor for these companies to improve their products and to earn money, which allows them to offer the services for free. I think there is not moral problem with that, also because the collection of data is publicly known and can be read (and must be accepted) in the Service Agreements.

Problems

But there are three main problems which I see for the users:

1. No Alternatives

There are not many alternatives which allow the users to use technology without giving away their private data and without the risk of being tracked and identified. Also, many people are "forced" to use these technologies, for example at their school or workplace, and it is not so easy to resist against using a software when everybody uses it and it is considered as normal.

If your resist to use for example WhatsApp, because you fear the surveillance, many people will laught about it and call you a conspiracy theorist. Another argument is, that there is no problem if you have nothing to hide. The right for your privacy often is not seen as important by the public.

Also, it is not easy to connect with other users and to integrate services without giving away data. If you want to participate on Facebook, edit a Google Doc together with friends or use a messenger, you are force to use these centralized services without an alternative.

2. Trust and Government Surveillance

Companies may collect more data than the user agreed on and governments put pressure on the company to get the data without the users agreement. This often happens in secret so the user can not know that his data is handed over to some government agency despite he does not want that.

3.Possibility of Censorship and Suspension of Human Rights

The influence from governments on the internet is growing with the importance of the internet worldwide. Countries like China are well known for censorship, but also democratic governments like the European Union create more and more laws to restrict free speech and to collect data about their citizens. Of course, governments argue always that this data can be use to prevent crime and terrorist attacks. The media publishes stories mainly about these bad headlines and so many people are in fear and accept the measurements by the government. But there is a realistic chance that governments get more and more totalitarian which is a big risk for its citizens.

Also, the currency system is in the hand of the government, which makes it easy for politicians to manipulate the currency market to fulfill the interest of specific groups and themselves, without doing the best for the public (It is indeed hard to argue what is best for the public, but I assume that it is the minimum influence by the government and the maximum freedom for the individual).

What to I want

The idea of a decentralized social network which can be used anonymously is an interesting concept to deal with some of the above mentioned problems. I am dealing with many privacy-related topic in my free-time and I like to get some experience with them and their opportunities. Also I am doing my own research on cryptocurrencies and I own some by myself.
Furthermore, I want to support interesting projects and maybe bring in my own ideas.

I plan to create some content here on Steemit regarding the mentioned topics. I would be happy if you follow my profile.

Thanks for Reading!
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