Presented at
The Next HOPE (2010),
July 18, 2010, 2 p.m.
(90 minutes)
We’ve all seen the headlines and know that much of the controversy has a presence right here at HOPE. For those who don’t know, or who just want a summary, one of our keynote speakers, Julian Assange, the main force behind whistleblower site wikileaks.org, became a marked man after one of his sources was allegedly identified by someone within the hacker community. The leaker had reportedly boasted to hacker Adrian Lamo (after seeing his name in a Wired article) about sending 260,000 U.S. State Department classified documents to wikileaks.org. According to Lamo, that claim was enough to make him decide to call the authorities and become an informant. The U.S. government became extremely interested in finding out whether Assange had these documents at wikileaks.org and it became abundantly clear that his appearance in the States to speak at HOPE would lead to interrogations, detainment, and possibly worse. At press time, the alleged leaker (an Army intelligence analyst), was being held incommunicado in a U.S. Army brig in Kuwait pending charges.
Our community has been thrust into the middle of this global controversy due to the multiple connections to the various players. There are a number of contentious questions and issues that we’re all dealing with right now. Was the leaker a hero for releasing information, including a widely sought video of U.S. troops killing unarmed Reuters staffers? Was Lamo a hero for turning someone in who was leaking classified information? Is wikileaks.org a vital resource or a threat to society? How should we as a community deal with this? And is this story being reported accurately and fairly?
Join us for what will be a most fascinating and enlightening panel discussion where you’ll hear firsthand perspectives on the issues of leaking information and turning people in, subjects that have always been of great interest to those in the hacker world. If you made plans to go home Sunday afternoon, this is worth rescheduling your trip and paying any penalties involved. Trust us.
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