DeSantis Wags the DOGE and Improving Your Online Security

Miami_AAUP

— 2 min read

Fighting the Dismantlement of U.S. Higher Education

Over the last two weeks, the news surrounding NSF and NIH indirect funding and the assault on diversity and equity has continued to unfold. More importantly, resistance to these authoritarian policies continues to mount. Some key highlights:

  1. A group of law professors drafted a memorandum urging university leaders not to practice anticipatory obedience when it comes to their DEI policies and programs. You can find a copy of their memo, "DEI Programs Are Lawful Under Federal Civil Rights Laws and Supreme Court Precedent," here.
  2. March 7: Stand Up for Science in Tallahassee: https://standupforscience2025.org/
  3. AAU Issues Statement Warning Congress of the Harm of Funding Cuts: https://www.aau.edu/key-issues/aau-signs-letter-unnecessary-disruptions-federally-supported-research

DeSantis Starts His Own DOJO

Image of Cobra Kai.
Image of Cobra Kai

Plagiarizer of federal executive orders and aspiring Cobra Kai sensei, Gov. DeSantis launched his own version of DOGE, which singles out public higher education in Florida for the "efficiency" treatment. You can find the text of this EO here. Municipal governments may also be targeted by this EO, which could wreak further havoc on our local economies and fellow citizens' wellbeing. Miami-Dade County has already enlisted McKinsey to perform an efficiency audit that will reward the infamous management consultancy firm for the more it cuts.

Improving Your Online Security

As the risk that educators and agitators will be monitored by federal and local authorities increases, we advise that you take added precautions to protect your communications and to avoid violating UM policy. Bearing in mind that no application or platform is completely immune to hacking or surveillance, here are some steps you can take to make yourself a harder target:

  1. Stop using your University of Miami email for AAUP communications or for any other activist correspondence. Proton Mail is one of the more secure email accounts that you might consider using.
  2. Reboot your smartphone routinely to thwart even some of the most pernicious "zero-click" forms of spyware. See also the NSA's own best practices guide.
  3. WhatsApp and Discord both offer some measure of greater security for messaging, but Signal offers the most robust protection. Don't forget to automate message history deletion if you use either WhatsApp or Signal.
  4. Consider experimenting with TAILs or another operating system that can be booted directly from an encrypted USB drive for added security. Warning: while it may be possible to boot from a USB on a UM computer, we advise that you do not do so. Tor browsing is also blocked on UM's wifi networks.
  5. Surf the internet using an alternative browser such as Brave, Ecosia, or Firefox. Use their private browsing modes to avoid storing cookies and your history, but you should be aware that you need to use a VPN or Tor to hide your online activity from your internet service provider.
  6. Consider using a more secure cloud service for saving sensitive research or activist materials. Sync is just such a cloud service.
  7. For more recommendations and information, check out this useful resource.

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