A few weeks ago, I collaborated with some of the great talents of the infosec world on a blog piece organized by Lesley Carhart. Our goal: to understand if online privacy was a truly accessible commodity. Could anyone have it. Or is it something reserved only for those with resources.

My group of authors worked for a week, collectively answering some very challenging questions. Sharp questions like “how can you protect yourself from identity theft when you can’t actually pay for a monitoring service”, and “how do you accomplish 2FA if you can’t afford a phone”.

My colleagues and I presented some very creative solutions to these and other challenges, and that is precisely at issue. Can you operate in a secure space online? Yes, under two circumstances: you have the money to pay for good resources, or you are brilliant.

This is not an acceptable status quo. Those with resources can afford the consequences of digital compromise. Those without are up against further hardship than they already face.

If there is to be great innovation in our space over my lifetime, may it be in the accessibility of methods through which individuals can preserve the integrity of their personal information and their private communications.

In the meantime, let’s endeavor to share the wealth of our intellectual capital, to educate, to bring what we know to those who do not, and foster a culture of personal responsibility as it pertains to technology.

-cp