Living in Alabama, I don't often have the opportunity to walk through fresh snow. Fortunately, mud tells many of the same stories. After a good rain, a hiking trail or dirt road becomes a record of everyone who has passed that way. Every boot and every tire leaves an impression. Some tracks are deep enough … Continue reading Becoming the Gray Man in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Author: Jeremy B. Blevins
Jeremy B. Blevins is an cybersecurity professional and novice historian, heraldist, and genealogist, with keen interest in the mechanics of balancing expanding technical capabilities with maintenance of cultural heritage.
Mr. Blevins practices a primitive form of sola scriptura Christianity devoid of any doctrine or creed outside the Bible. He applies these principles to be a disciple of Christ, good husband and father, loyal worker, and trustworthy friend. To that end, Mr. Blevins would share with you the meaning of life: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, ESV)
Emancipation Digitization
History remembers proclamations because they announce more than policy. They declare that the world has crossed a threshold. When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery did not disappear the moment the ink dried. At that instant, it was, in the most literal sense, merely words on paper. Its authority depended upon institutions willing to … Continue reading Emancipation Digitization
Zero Trust Civilization
There is a moment now, familiar in its repetition, that would have been difficult to imagine not long ago. You log in, confirm a code, approve a prompt on another device, and wait briefly while the system decides. Nothing about the process feels remarkable. It is quick, often invisible, and usually successful. Over time, it … Continue reading Zero Trust Civilization
The Machines That Verify Us
There was a time when finding your way required more than a signal. In the early years of my military service, I used a PLGR, a Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver. The name suggested something more refined than the device itself. It was large, deliberate, and slow to orient. Acquiring a signal could take time, and … Continue reading The Machines That Verify Us
When “Accredited” Isn’t Enough
A young student asks a simple question: Is this college accredited? The answer is yes. The better question is never asked. In the American imagination, accreditation functions as a kind of institutional seal. It suggests legitimacy, baseline quality, and a degree that will carry weight beyond the walls of the issuing school. It is a … Continue reading When “Accredited” Isn’t Enough
Never Trust, Always Verify
There is a phrase in cybersecurity that, once heard, is difficult to ignore. Never trust. Always verify. It is presented as a principle of good design, a response to hostile networks and persistent threats. But like many such principles, it carries with it a quiet assumption, that trust, as a default posture, is no longer … Continue reading Never Trust, Always Verify
The Age of Authentication
There is a quiet shift underway in how we are expected to exist online. It does not announce itself with the force of a new technology, nor with the clarity of a single policy. It appears instead as a requirement, a small prompt during account creation, a field to be filled, a box to be … Continue reading The Age of Authentication
