I am currently developing a new undergraduate and graduate elective course called Digital Resilience. Digitial Resilience is about using technology in a way that is private, secure, robust and reliable even in adverse or threatening environments. Technology and the Internet are integral to our lives in ways that were not imagined a few decades ago. Many of our human daily activities that were formerly corporeal are now carried out digitally using the infrastructure of the global cloud, which brings huge risks and vulnerabilities. We feel little control over this infrastructure, the privacy of our activities using it, or its ability to work for us in adverse environments such as those caused by power outages, surveillance or cyberattack. This class will help you gain control over the technology you use, and let you use it in a way that is resilient to external threats and vulnerabilities. Students will explore how to use cellphones and communications devices in a highly private and secure way; limit their data exposure on the internet; have a private digital life; have a strategy for redundancy; and use alternate technologies with improved physical resilience such as mesh networks. The class is suitable for anyone interested in gaining control over the technology they use, but would be especially useful for those considering careers subject to external threats, such as journalism, advocacy, emergency response and emergency management.
