So You Want to OPSEC, Eh?

In this practical presentation at the DEF CON 29 Recon Village, intelligence analyst Ritu Gill delivers a comprehensive guide to personal operational security (OPSEC) and digital privacy protection for researchers and everyday users. She opens at 04:00 by introducing threat modeling frameworks, urging attendees to identify their specific adversaries, determine what personal data is exposed online, and understand where that data is aggregated by third parties.

Ritu highlights digital sharing hygiene at 08:00, proposing simple behavioral checks before posting—such as asking whether one would want the shared information displayed on a public billboard—regardless of whether social media accounts are set to private. At 12:00, she explores the severe privacy risks posed by lifestyle and fitness applications, showing how beer-tracking platforms like Untappd leak precise geolocations, daily routines, and frequent travel itineraries.

Addressing browser tracking at 16:00, Ritu reviews extensions and configuration tweaks to spoof user agents and mitigate browser fingerprinting techniques that track users across disparate sessions. She wraps up at 20:00 by recommending curated resources such as PrivacyTools.io and Terms of Service analysis sites, providing actionable steps for individuals to minimize their digital footprint. (AI summary — Gemini Flash)