Is civilian OPSEC just a fantasy?

Preparation, Preparedness & Prevention Disaster Preparation & Planning
1

Being “Off the grid” is usually discussed when talking about doomsday prepping and SHTF scenarios, but knowing that everything we do leaves a small footprint, is going off the grid even possible and could you do it without compromising your OPSEC?

I ask this because you cant even own a piece of land in the US without the transaction being public record. Your IP, location and internet usage is recorded, cellular call log and location is recorded, car ownership, insurance, registration is recorded. Even your ATM cash withdraws are recorded. I’m starting to think our smart phones do more than we realize without our consent- in fact, there are several conspiracies that deal with NSA listening and tracking software installed in each smartphone- that is yet to be determined.

There are stories of people “prepping” and trying to set up an “off the grid” safe house or bug out location only to compromise there OPSEC. A man paid cash for an old non-sea worthy sail boat in South Florida and kept it at a marina in the Keys that was owned by someone that lived out of country, yet within a month, the tax collector was sending registration forms to his home address? How does that happen? I was reading about a guy who got a ICOM HAM radio at a garage sale, used it a few times only listening to other people and the FCC had sent him demand letters to his home. He said it took 7 days from purchase to getting legal action threats and he was just listening. There are other stories like these that would make me believe that a persons OPSEC is just a fantasy.

Not too long ago, I was pulled over at night in my truck, which the sticker had expired, the police explained to me that he knew I had already inspected my car and paid for my new registration but was pulling me over anyway- he let me go but he did bring up something disturbing, he asked me why I didn’t take a certain highway home to Dallas- it could save me 10-15 minutes, I was in Gordonville, 95 miles north of Dallas, I asked how he knew what route I took or didn’t take and he explained to me that I was pulled over 6 years ago and was given a warning in a certain town, and pulled over 2 years ago in another town and given a warning and they have a algorithm that can predict certain routes traveled by people. He told me that “they” could tell that I am usually on highway 377 between 8pm and 12am on Sundays.- Kind of scary. Especially considering that Gordonville was my bug out location.

It just seems like in todays time, your OPSEC is compromised just because of technology, current laws, regulations and governing bodies.

I am asking if any of you can change my mind or change my way of thinking. Is there a way to go off the grid completely without compromising your OPSEC. Or, is there a way to live your life with the smallest footprint possible without compromising your comfort level and average standard way of living?

2

Easy, go Daniel Boon it on BLM land, preferably in Alaska.

LOL, just kidding, you’ll go to prison for poaching!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

3

Your best bet is to live a normal life. OPSEC is easy if you are one in 325.7 Million people in the US. They can’t look at everyone… blend in and be one of the masses.

4

I agree. They don’t have enough people to go after everyone. They also would want to make an example of people who are “vocal.”

I hate to use a movie analogy, but watch “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” with Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, et al. It really conveys what it’s like to try to “blend in.”

Now, for the society collapsing into anarchy scenario, I plan to bug out to a location that I know has buildings, running water, electricity, and is in the middle of nowhere and poorly guarded. I will say no more.

5

Agree, it is impossible to live “off the grid” unless you are way the hell gone and don’t come into town much. Can’t own property. Can’t have a legit (well paying) job. Can’t be buying stuff online or with a card. Can’t have a bank account. Can’t be visiting any town over 10,000 pop. (traffic cams, sheriff’s license plate scanners, etc). Can’t vote or drive (at least where there are paved roads and cops). Can’t have a phone or Internet. No smart big screen TV. No utilities. BTW, can Google car or satellite see you?

We are all being tracked and they come up with more invasive ways every year. Now any picture you post can give the feds facial recognition data as well as fingerprints (if your fingers are in just one photo). DNA collection is making inroads. How many people are BUYING in-home listening devices such as Amazon Echo and others?!!! Any TV with a microphone is most likely collecting your conversations whether you are watching TV or not, as well as voice signatures, and correlated viewing patterns.

Also agree about blending in. But make no mistake, the day will come in five years or fifty years or two hundred years when you comply or they come for you. Some will be sacrificed in the beginning via surprise until we realize IT is happening for realz. But after several of us are carted off in the night, other patriots will have do a gut check and determine if they plan to do anything to help protect each other from future “visits” or wait to get weeded out individually. We have no self-correcting wherewithal left in our society and we ARE on the road to serfdom. Best to prepare as best you can to be insulated from dependence on the govt, and pass on the knowledge and equipment so that when the time comes, there will be enough folks willing and able to resist. All while being watched, tabulated, and evaluated.

6

I think advances in computing power, predictive algorithms, licence plate readers, facial recognition, and just how much more digital footprint we leave everywhere we go, will in the near future make that theory obsolete.

7

As a licensed Ham, I call B.S. on this.

There are no restrictions on owning Ham gear. Listening in on Amateur communications is perfectly legal. In fact, it’s so perfectly legal that Amateurs are prohibited from using encryption or codes to hide the content of communications. (Digital mode transmissions can be encoded, but the algorithms used are open-source and computer programs are available to decode and read these transmissions.) In fact, the openness of Amateur Radio is often a hindrance when providing emergency or disaster communications, because of privacy laws (especially HIPPA).

Amateur Radio is self-policed. The FCC does not have the resources to constantly monitor all Ham frequencies all across the country all of the time. There are Hams who sign up to be “Official Observers”, who can document misuse of the bands, but it takes weeks or months of monitoring and documenting abuses before they can file a case with the FCC. And then, the FCC may check things out, but always on their own timetable. And this is only if you’re illegally transmitting…They can’t find you when you’re just listening.

No one cares if you’re listening. In fact, it’s encouraged! If it sparks your interest enough that you decide to get licensed and join in the fun, so much the better for our hobby!

8

I agree with this 100%.

There is no way you can live a normal, modern life without being tracked constantly. Your smart phone is listening, following, learning 24/7. Your social media accounts know your habits, recognize your face, your location, etc.

9

And everyone, to include the government, always say, “he was so normal and quite”. Just after a person kills a bunch of people and eats them… BE a lemming…until it is time to be a honey badger. :wink:

This:

Or This:

10

Who doesn’t have a smart phone in the developed world?

I refer to them as personal locator beacons.

Hell my TV remote (Amazon Fire Stick) data mines my ass.

11

East Germany maintained high levels of control with low tech decades ago.

12

That too would work if the government completely got rid of the Constitution. Then it would be easy but that is a completely different story. The US would have to be run like a prison for that to work. So again, just drone along is the best answer for now.

13

They will never completely do away with it since it enumerates what they are allowed to do. The rub comes with all of the things done outside of those enumerated powers.

As long as it isn’t perceived as a prison for some. There were plenty of East Germans that were happy as larks (not just their ruling class) because they genuinely liked living that way or they just didn’t know any better. More .gov control, Democrat and Republican, is what wins votes in this country too unfortunately.

14

I love my flip phone. My flip phone makes phone calls and let’s me send short texts.

15

This should help you to sleep at night:

Meet Stingray, A Device Police Are Using To Track Your Cellphone
https://www.americanpatriotdaily.com/latest/stingray-device-police-using-track-your-cellphone/

Mystery Stingray devices discovered in Washington
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43639709

16

Good point. Just because there aren’t people getting forced on to trains at the moment doesn’t mean there aren’t other people (from elite to lowest) desiring that scenario and more than enough entrepreneurs wanting to outfit it.

17

OP, your post is interesting. So you are trying (or want to) hide from the Govt? Is it possible? Yes. You just cannot live a life of comfort and ease. You would have to work for cash only, have no cell phone, internet access in your residence, never use a bank or CC, etc. Pretty hard to do these days. Your time is probably better spent reducing your online foot print, investing in tangible assets (like guns and ammo that can be traded with no paper work) and for GOD SAKES stop using e-mail.

I remember when I got out of USN Cryptology school (1993), I remember telling friends and family, don’t ever say anything on a cell phone that you wouldn’t mind repeating in front of a judge.

C4

18

Most homeless are effectively off the grid.

19

There’s OPSEC and then there’s OPSEC.. Who are you attempting to be protected from and what at what levels? There’s a lot people can do to protected their info from casual stuff, and short of living in the a cabin on Alaska totally off the grid, little you can do to hide if a pro or org that decided to put some real resources to find you. Following some basic rules will work most of the time for most people, but depends on what you’re attempting to hide, why, and from who.

20

I’m not trying to hide from the government or anyone for that matter. I was just thinking of possible situations that would force many to abandon there primary homes in favor for setting up a new life outside metropolitan areas. If that was the case at hand, I couldn’t think of a way to do that strategically without compromising your OPSEC.

I found a law/private investigation firm that can wipe your entire internet history for $28,000 and it takes about 30-45 business days. All you have to do is cancel all current credit cards, suspend all internet traffic for that duration of the 30-45 days and provide them every email you have ever been associated with, bank account information, credit card numbers, every phone number you have ever been associated with and last 3 addresses and they can clear our your entire background on the internet, they will find any forum your have registered with, any websites you have shopped with, any comments you have ever left on any forum, blog, website, I’m talking completely erase your internet history like search results and purchase history on sites like EBay, Amazon, Yahoo!, Xbox live, PlayStation, Paypal, Netlflix, Hulu, Direct TV, MSN, Google account, YouTube account, Pornhub, Facebook account as well as thousands of others and removing your data until it looks as though you never used the internet. I’m not talking cleaning out your own browser but removing your existence from the internet! They have a 100% money back guarantee and they do this through a “privacy compliant” act and they use the current laws to remove your complete information. They are all retired FBI agents and assistant US attorneys. They offer this to people who may consider running for any type of public position or interviewing for high power job that requires security clearance. And from what I understand, there is a huge market.

That’s defiantly an option for security yet an expensive option and doesn’t really help in the long run.

As far as phones go, I have a satellite phone that I got used from a satellite phone store. I buy pre paid sim cards only when I need them, they cost around $70 for 10 minutes or $300 for 25 minutes and there is no contract, I don’t have to fill out any paperwork, give my information or the serial number for my phone because they are pre paid and each sim card has an expiration date- usually 30 days. I get usually (2) 10 minute sim cards when I travel to the Caribbean or Bahamas because there infrastructure in not the best and if there is ever a storm or a power outage, I have a way to communicate. Obviously 10 minutes for $70 makes this out of reach for most people and each sim card you get is a different number and that might make communication hard.

But from my research and understanding, you can not own land, a home, trailer, vehicle, without having that transaction recorded because there are taxes involved. Hotels/motels and apartments require a credit card for deposit, a car requires inspection and registration or you risk getting pulled over. I’m sure you can rent a trailer from some country hick for cash but good luck getting electricity, water or propane without an account and a credit card on file. So this was my basic concern, living off the grid is not reality and your operational security in an all out SHTF or Doomsday scenario is compromised because of current laws, regulation and governing bodies.