This is a reprint of a guide called “What is Security Culture?” published by the
CrimethInc collective. As far as we know, it first appeared in their book Recipes
for Disaster: An Anarchist Cookbook and then appeared in a slightly updated form
in 2009 on their website, Crimethinc.com.
We’re reprinting this because the information contained within cannot be shared
enough within our communities. Over the past several years, we’ve seen various
instances of anarchists getting serious federal charges. Eric McDavid was
entrapped by a federal informant — Anna — with whom he hatched a plot to blow
up a dam and was later sentenced to several years in prison. At the 2008 protests
against the Republican National Convention (RNC), several folks were entrapped
by federal informants — Bradley Crowder, David McKay, and Matthew Depalma.
While one certainly can’t say that more easily accessible information on security
culture would have prevented these situations, it seems that the more widely
available the information is the safer we will all be.
We chose to reprint this guide specifically because it focuses on general principles
— rather than specific tactics — necessary to building secure communities of
resistance. Please read this guide, share it, enact these principles in your life, and
explain them to people who aren’t familiar with them. Most importantly, please,
please take security culture seriously.
Finally, folks would also do well to do some additional research on the subject of
social networking and computer security. As computers dominate more and more
of our lives, it is important that folks think about the risks that their use can pose
for those in conflict with the state.
Love and Rage,
Sprout Anarchist Collective // www.sproutac.org

What is security culture ? – A guide to stay safe