Presented at
HOPE X (2014),
July 18, 2014, 2 p.m.
(60 minutes)
Vivien Lesnik Weisman, director of the upcoming documentary film The Hacker Wars [1], speaks with Drake on the confluence of hacktivism and whistleblowing. Depending on one's perspective on who should regulate information, hacktivists and whistleblowers are either criminals or freedom fighters. Drake will discuss his own case and the dystopian dynamic that ensued when the criminal justice system was used as an instrument to destroy him. In light of his personal experience with the state, he will discuss the importance of specific stories of young hacktivists, along with that of whistleblower Edward Snowden, including their battles with the U.S. government.
Presenters:
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Vivien Lesnik Weisman
Vivien Lesnik Weisman is the director of the new film The Hacker Wars, a feature length documentary about the targeting of hactivists by the U.S. government. The film is in post-production. Her last film, Man of Two Havanas, was met with critical acclaim and has gone on to win many prestigious awards throughout the world. She is also a regular contributor to The Huffington Post.
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Thomas Drake
Thomas Drake is a decorated U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy veteran, and was a senior executive and technical director for NSA's software engineering and implementation - where he discovered and blew the whistle on massive multi-billion dollar fraud, waste, and abuse; the failures that led to 9/11; and the widespread violations of citizens' rights through secret mass surveillance programs after 9/11. After years of addressing these issues in vain thorough official channels, Drake finally went to the press - and soon became the first whistleblower since Daniel Ellsberg in 1971 to be charged with espionage. He faced spending the rest of his life in federal prison for defending the Constitution. After refusing to testify against his colleagues and demanding a jury trial, the government's case of all ten felony counts collapsed in 2011 and he went free. Drake is the recipient of the 2011 Ridenhour Truth Telling Prize, a joint recipient with Jesselyn Radack of the 2011 Sam Adams Associates Integrity in Intelligence Award, and the 2012 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award. He has been keenly interested in the many developments within the hacker world over the years.
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