Unfortunately, these matters are very important for me and I have dealt with a number of security threats in my life. A committed adversary can always defeat a strong security setup, but you can make things very difficult for them.

A lot of this info I gleaned from this guide by Jamison Lopp although he goes really far. https://blog.lopp.net/modest-privacy-protection-proposal/. The rest of it I got from friends that go through their own challenges and from my own experiences.

Physical security

Firstly, I chose to live in a place where self-defense is legal, and the police and courts are tilted in favor of law-abiding defenders, as opposed to attackers. This isn’t the case in most of the US. Not to get all political, but this rules out all blue states (in my opinion). There, even if you validly defend yourself, you are liable to face prosecution whether criminal or civil. Florida has excellent self-defense rules and of course firearm ownership laws. That is a huge part of the reason I live here. An armed society is a polite society. This extends to conceal carry. Obviously, this doesn’t really apply to non-Americans, but it bears mentioning. If you do own firearms you have to train with them (in real world situations), it’s not enough to just have them in your house or car.

Sadly, the place in which you live is like 70% of the battle. If you live in a functional country with strong property rights that affirms the right to self-defense, you are in a good spot. As a resident of Florida I feel like I made the best possible choice. But I had to go through a lot to actually end up here. Ultimately it’s your life and there’s no substitute for feeling safe and comfortable. Miami is actually more dangerous than NYC but it really depends on the neighborhood.

Next, I live in a high-security concierge building. Obviously not everyone can do this, but this is a great start. No one gets in without being on camera.

Third, I don’t recommend owning property directly. If you do buy property, in the US, your address can be found trivially through real estate records, so I recommend buying through a trust or an LLC. That’s essential, because property is a long-term commitment and you don’t want to be an easy target. And of course, you don’t want to get SWATted, which is a real threat these days.

Also, kind of a silly one, but being in good physical shape and knowing the basics of combat sports is important (if you’re a man). I train boxing when I have free time and I know that I can hold my own in a physical confrontation with someone my size. Good cardio is also important. You can always run away! I believe that just by presenting as someone that’s in shape and more physically imposing you’re much less likely to get into a confrontation in the first place. You just don’t look like a victim.

Use a PO box for orders and deliveries. This is cumbersome and annoying, but necessary IMO.

Digital security

I use a yubikey and physical two factor authentication for everything where it’s possible. I use two factor everywhere. I use a cell provider that is SIM-swap resistant. SIM swapping is basically a guarantee so this is one of the most important things. Using an authenticator is also essential. I am maxed out with my security on all exchange accounts etc. And with everything else like dropbox and email.

In terms of storing crypto, use a multisig provider with multiple different hardware devices like Casa for long-term cold storage. For short term crypto holdings, a hardware wallet with a browser wallet is necessary. I think if you do these things you are basically good. The problem is when you get sloppy and just use a browser wallet with no backup or no hardware device to sign.

A standard antivirus stack like malwarebytes and various browser extensions that disable ads and javascript etc is also necessary. Being smart about what links you click in emails. Assuming sketchy emails are phishing and confirm with people if they send you a dropbox link that you’re not expecting.

Best practices

Never post publicly about where you are at a certain moment. I am not that good about this. Holidays especially. You don’t want people to know when you’re traveling or away.

Never, ever, ever, ever post about family, significant others, or other people close to you. As a public person, I live under the eye of sauron and I’m used to the normal volume of threats, attacks, etc, but regular people aren’t, and they didn’t sign up for that. The few times I’ve posted about family, I have always regretted it, as they subsequently became targets. I have never to my knowledge posted about a significant other, and I don’t think I ever will.

When you’re traveling and have a driver, use a fake name. That way, gangs can’t canvass your driver and realize it’s you, replace your driver, and abduct you and hold you to ransom.

Don’t have your real name connected to your airpods or your laptop. Use a fake name. That way no one can identify you from your digital footprint on bluetooth or airdrop.

When traveling I wear sunglasses and a hat so people don’t recognize me as easily. It’s weird having people come up to me in the grocery store. Flattering, but also scary every time.

Don’t wear crypto merch in public. I used to be really bad about this but I’m better now. I almost never wear identifying stuff. Obviously it depends where you are and live. In some places it’s normal to run into tech and crypto people. It doesn’t worry me as much in affluent places. But when traveling or in a place I don’t know well I never wear any kind of merch that identifies me as a crypto person.

You also don’t have to tell random uber drivers what you do for a living. Probably best not to ever tell strangers what you do.

Don’t do silly stuff like go to the club and brag about how much crypto you have or put yourself in a compromising situation especially in a foreign place. This is just general good advice. But you are much more likely to be robbed when you’re drink in a foreign club or bar naturally.

Obviously, don’t share info regarding your net worth or holdings with anyone. Maybe just your family or SO. No one needs to know this info. It’s a liability.

I think my opsec is like, 99% percentile, but unfortunately this kind of stuff is necessary for a crypto person who is fairly well known. I view all this stuff as basically the cost of making a living in this industry. Crypto is lucrative, but it’s a very costly industry to operate in in many ways. The opsec risks and constant paranoia are the “cost” of operating in crypto.

The Solana phone I don’t worry about too much, because it looks like a normal phone.