The FBI's Top Priority for 2013

What do you think the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) top priority for 2013 is? Fighting terrorism? No. Their top priority for this year is spying on your sorry ass:

Despite the pervasiveness of law enforcement surveillance of digital communication, the FBI still has a difficult time monitoring Gmail, Google Voice, and Dropbox in real time. But that may change soon, because the bureau says it has made gaining more powers to wiretap all forms of Internet conversation and cloud storage a “top priority” this year.

[...]

Either way, the FBI is not happy with the current arrangement and is on a crusade for more surveillance authority. According to Weissmann, the bureau is working with “members of intelligence community” to craft a proposal for new Internet spy powers as “a top priority this year.” Citing security concerns, he declined to reveal any specifics. “It's a very hard thing to talk about publicly,” he said, though acknowledged that “it's something that there should be a public debate about.”

Thankfully there are ways to maintain privacy even if the FBI obtains new surveillance powers. Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR) encrypts instant messages between individuals meaning anybody sitting in the middle and listening to the conversation will get nothing but gibberish. OpenPGP allows individuals to encrypt and sign e-mails ensuring prying eyes are unable to read or alter the contents. Jitsi allows you to make encrypted audio calls.

If you haven't begun using these tools you should start immediately. The state will increase it's surveillance powers, that isn't in question. Getting in the habit of using cryptography will render those powers irrelevant.