His concerns aren't unlike the recent attention that's been given to the shadowy underworld of 'data brokers' and online surveillance systems that profit off the sale of users' data - often without their knowledge or consent. Many organizations, ranging from telecommunications firms and hotels to the likes of Silicon Valley giants have been criticized for extensively collecting and sharing users' data. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) extends across a public network, and enables users to send and receive data while maintaining the secrecy of a private network. Lopp also uses a Virtual Private Network when browsing the web at home to mask his IP address. In all, he estimates the process of going off the grid cost him $30,000, the Times said.

Source: Daily Mail March 15, 2019 19:09 UTC