Streetwise Professor

August 6, 2013

Be There. Aloha. A Hacker Convergence In Hawaii

Filed under: Military,Politics — The Professor @ 8:36 am

We already know Jake Appelbaum was in Hawaii for a dream-of-a-lifetime birthday trip during the last week of March, 2013.*  Right when Snowden was starting work at Booz Allen Hamilton.

And wouldn’t you know, another famous-very famous-hacker, and BFF to Appelbaum, was also in Hawaii at that very time.  Specifically, Moxie Marlinspike, a rather renowned security expert and hacker noted for exploiting flaws in SSL held the “First Annual Spring Break of Coding” (“SBoC”)-wait for it-23 to 31 March.  First Annual.  Like, it never happened before.  The idea just came to him.

Interestingly, Appelbaum doesn’t mention Moxie (he does blather about his “20 friends” but doesn’t name any) and Moxie doesn’t mention Appelbaum, but we know that they knew of each others’ presence.  One of the SBoC attendees, one Christine Corbett, posted on Instagram a photo of Appelbaum in Hawaii in a series of photos taken at the SBoC (a stream that includes a photo of Moxie too). (Scroll down to March 2013 photos.  Oh, and don’t bother removing them, Christine.  I have the screen caps.)   The mutual non-recognition of the others’ presence is quite odd.

So odd, that it has to be deliberate, especially given that Moxie and Appelbaum have broadcast to the world when they are together, and mooted plans to get together.  Appelbaum and Moxie interact on Twitter.  They have traveled together.  And speaking of travel, they also have more in common, and in common with Poitras.  In particular, they-and their electronic-all get up close and personal attention from law enforcement whenever they fly.  Moxie can’t even print out his own boarding pass when flying domestic, and is subject to special TSA screening.  He has also fulminated, like Appelbaum and Poitras, against the security state.  They all share an agenda.

Note when the SBoC was announced.  23 January.  Poitras and Snowden-per Piotras’s own admission-were in communication by that time.

And speaking of Poitras, Corbett mentions an unnamed female journalist with an intense interest in politics being present at SBoC.  Given that Poitras and Appelbaum are closely connected-and connected to Snowden-what are the odds that said journalist was Poitras?

One more fun fact.  If this Cryptome post is to be believed, Snowden generated a PGP public key (using his BAH email address) on . . . 24 March, 2013.

Perhaps it’s all a coincidence that a group of hackers, including two of the most well-known hackers with a known animus to the “security state” are in Hawaii at the same time that Snowden starts his NSA work at BAH.  A group that has-at most-one degree of separation from Snowden: with Jake Appelbaum as the common link.

Perhaps.  But a far more plausible hypothesis is that this was a hacker version of Oceans Eleven, a gathering of specialists implementing a plan to steal information from NSA.

The most problematic aspect to this hypothesis is the tight timeline, with Poitras claiming first contact with Snowden about the same time as Moxie broadcast the invitation to SBoC.  But it is only problematic if you (a) believe Poitras is telling the truth, which can be doubted given that she has an incentive to dissemble and given her dissembling about her activities in Iraq, and more importantly, (b) you believe that Snowden reached out to Poitras first.

With regard to (b) I advance the following conjecture: Snowden was in contact with Appelbaum first, and well before January, 2013, and Appelbaum directed Snowden to Poitras.  It would be natural for a computer geek and hacker like Snowden to know of, and to reach out to, Appelbaum.  Far more natural than to reach out to Poitras first.

Under this conjecture, the timing works out.  Snowden, Appelbaum, and Moxie work out their basic plan in late-2012 or early-January, 2013.  Appelbaum activates the plan to disseminate the information via Poitras by putting Snowden in touch with her and near simultaneously Moxie initiates the SBoC to give him cover to travel to Hawaii (and perhaps too a team of unwitting accomplices that could help him cover his activities while there).   They all converge in Hawaii a couple of months later, and then or soon thereafter Snowden steals over 10K documents from NSA.

I’d be more than interested in reading an alternative explanation of this hacker convergence that shaves better with Occam’s Razor than the one I advance above.  Means, motive, motivation, and opportunity all line up.

Interestingly, Appelbaum doesn’t feel that it is safe for him to return to the US.  He is hanging out in Germany.  Which just happens to be where Poitras is leading a media campaign (through Der Spiegel) to whip up anti-US sentiment over spying-and with considerable success.

Just more coincidences, surely.

* Of course one can doubt this story.  Catherine Fitzpatrick believes that she can place Appelbaum in Hawaii the previous year.  And Appelbaum’s carrying on about this, with all the bologna about manta rays and unicorns and rainbows suggests he’s trying to construct some sort of cover story.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

10 Comments »

  1. SWP, do you think the NSA should have a whistleblower protection plan, or a hotline for tips, or perhaps a confidential court to release mis-behavior?

    There are no checks and balances or reasonable oversight on the NSA. Are you comfortable with that?

    Comment by scott — August 6, 2013 @ 1:57 pm

  2. @scott. There are whistleblower procedures at NSA. Snowden could have gone to Wyden or another senator or representative. Perhaps there would have been a way for him to go to FISA.

    Let’s get real here. One can think of myriad ways to achieve legitimate outcomes, and to communicate legitimate concerns in ways that do not compromise national security. Going to Appelbaum/Poitras/Greenwald is not on that list. Not now. Not ever.

    More reality: It’s not like Snowden was Shocked! Shocked! by what he found by working for NSA. He, by his own admission, deliberately sought the BAH job for the explicit purpose of committing espionage. Moreover, he has routinely exaggerated and distorted in his accounts of the nature of the programs, which casts serious doubts on his motivations. As if there was room for doubt after he collaborated with people who are not shy about their anti-American agenda. His objective-which he shares with Appelbaum, Poitras, Greenwald, Assange, etc.-is to do the most damage possible.

    You exaggerate when you say there are no checks and balances. Indeed, that is a grotesque exaggeration, based primarily on Snowden’s misrepresentation of the way the system works.

    I have no problems with examining whether those checks and balances need to be re-calibrated. But if you think that is what Snowden, Greenwald, Appelbaum, Poitras, and Marlinspike are about, you are utterly deluded. Take them at their word.

    The ProfessorComment by The Professor — August 6, 2013 @ 2:41 pm

  3. Good work. I imagine that this “Spring Break for Hackers” was chosen as cover, or to enable Appelbaum and maybe Marlinspike to blend in, and also to ensure that if challenged about any relationship to Snowden, Corbett and others could predictably on cue shriek that anyone would suspect them and whine that people suspecting them are just McCarthyites blah blah — and they might honestly have nothing to do with Snowden. So it is really nefarious.

    It does seem as if Tyler’s blog about the Spring Break is mentioning a journalist who could fit Poitras’ description.

    It isn’t just that I “believe” I can place Appelbaum in Hawaii the year before — he himself has a tweet which I linked to dated April 3, 2012, the day of his birthday, saying he was in Hawaii. That’s why his weeping claim in the talk in Berlin that he was just fulfilling a dream in April 2013 — going to Hawaii because friends paid for the trip — seemed lame, because he wasn’t fulfilling a dream that he had already fulfilled the year before by going to Hawaii back then.

    Snowden arrived in Hawaii in 2012, but worked for Dell then. They could have met then. Then Snowden says he scouted out BHA as a place from which he could hack moar, and then got the job there in March 2013.

    I had noted the generation of his public key when I noticed Cryptome here:

    http://3dblogger.typepad.com/wired_state/2013/07/where-is-the-rest-of-edward-snowdens-online-footprint.html

    There’s that strange other account “Michael Vario” and his antics, and he may or may not be Snowden, or could be someone (law-enforcement?) chasing these people, as he is accused of infecting them.

    I knew that Poitras was close to Appelbaum and he helped her with crypto, and they likely met in Iraq in 2004-2005 and at other times. They were at the “teach-in” on the same platform at the Whitney in April 2012. Appelbaum was the one to help her communicate with Snowden clandestinely and encrypt files and comms.

    I noticed that she was in the picture of one of the crypto parties or hackathons to do crypto stuff in Germany.

    It’s funny that for all the planning of the staged leaks and positioning of the stories that had to go on, we’re not finding Glenn Greenwald ever meet any of these people anywhere. But there’s Ewan MacAskill of the Guardian who was the DC correspondent and who met Poitras in a NYC hotel at the start of this.

    When I look at these really chatty tweets and Instagrams and such from Hawaii from Xeni Jardin and others, talking about swimming with the sea turtles, etc. I wonder if they are speaking in code or whether they are just making a lot of noise to disguise what else is happening.

    Of course, these people don’t have to physically meet to leak and publish files. But I bet they do. I think they would have to have a meeting in person to build up a trust level and for Snowden to perform quests and satisfy this tight cell of people who had worked together for years that he was the real thing.

    Comment by Catherine Fitzpatrick — August 6, 2013 @ 9:08 pm

  4. @SWP, i am not advocating going to Appelbaum/Poitras/Greenwald, or support choices Snowden has made … however I have not been able to find whistleblower protections for NSA employees, (most companies are required by statue to provide protection and a channel to report mis-behavior, particularly in banks/ trading firms). The government security apparatus does not provide these channels. Going to Wyden would not protect him from prosecution- and Holder’s zealous pursuit of leakers would make any reasonable person unlikely to feel safe in Wyden’s hands. Snowden did not have a reasonable channel to blow the whistle on PRISM, Clapper lying and other illegal snooping activity. Plausibly Snowden ended up in enemy hands (China/Russia) exactly because the NSA does not offer whistleblower protection channels. Self-imposed wound for the NSA.

    The closing of 21 embassies this week is a similarly stupid action by the Obama administration. Rather that admit some wrongdoing with Benganzhi, and work towards making diplomatic missions safer, they deny any mistakes, and then spread fear and kill some Yemeni’s with a drone for theater. benganzhi will haunt the obama administration, which has little capacity for self-reflection or nuance in the world. Snowden could easily have been offered a plea-bargain by Obama and returned home, or some protection on the condition that he did not reveal more, and truly damaging material. Afterall- Snowden turned himself in, it is not like Holder unearthed his leaks through some investigations. Obama could have been looked at as benevolent ruler, and Snowden would get some jail time for reflection. But instead, Obama let’s Putin put a needle in his eye, and potentially truly put America at risk. He is no crafty statesman.

    The Snowden story is more about Obama acting towards him in s stupid heavy-handed way- (pursuit of Fox News/AP similarly). SWP, instead it is shooting fish in a barrel to judge the decisions of a 30-year old, scared for his life, and surrounded by wikileaks handlers and FSB personnel. Snowden is out of his league.

    Comment by scott — August 7, 2013 @ 12:37 am

  5. I really wish people would stop referring to Snowden as a whistle blower. If you discover your company is dumping mercury in the ground water and you out them, that makes you a whistle blower. If you get a job with a company with the deliberate intent of revealing their legitimate secrets – may I assume we agree that the NSA has legitimate secrets – then that is espionage.

    Snowden didn’t need whistle-blower protection. He didn’t want whistle-blower protection. He wanted an inside job where he could continue the work Wikileaks started, of exposing entirely legitimate Government secrets in an illegal way.

    As a taxpayer, I don’t want ‘activists’ taking it on themselves to decide that this and that Government activity is ‘illegal’. Leave that to Congress and the Courts. Your own opinion is strictly for amusement only.

    Comment by jon livesey — August 7, 2013 @ 4:52 pm

  6. @Jon. Spot on. Especially the part about individuals arrogating to themselves the power to decide what is, and what is not, legal, or desirable policy. Yes, secrecy can be used to conceal malfeasance. But especially in matters related to intelligence and defense, secrecy is essential. It is difficult to put the checks and balances in place, but letting grandiose activists decide what is right and wrong is a recipe for disaster.

    You are also right that Wikileaks’s purpose in disclosing secrets is to undermine the US. Assange et al cloak themselves in righteous justifications, but when they speak honestly, they reveal their true motive.

    Lastly, as you say, in all the hyperventilating about what Snowden has revealed, I’ve yet to have anyone argue credibly that he has disclosed anything that is actually, you know, illegal.

    The ProfessorComment by The Professor — August 7, 2013 @ 9:26 pm

  7. @Jon&SWP, you are not addressing my question of what “whistleblower” channels exist for NSA and security agencies of the US government? the question is not whether Snowden himself is a whistleblower, and whether secrecy is important. those are separate questions, and I purposely did not address them.

    please address my question of whether you think a government agency such as the NSA should have checks and balances or some kind of oversight. And if so, define what sort of reporting channel exists to express malfeasance.

    Comment by scott — August 8, 2013 @ 1:08 pm

  8. @scott-Had a few moments to find the relevant information. September 2023

  9. August 2023
  10. July 2023
  11. June 2023
  12. May 2023
  13. April 2023
  14. March 2023
  15. February 2023
  16. January 2023
  17. December 2022
  18. November 2022
  19. October 2022
  20. September 2022
  21. August 2022
  22. July 2022
  23. June 2022
  24. May 2022
  25. April 2022
  26. March 2022
  27. February 2022
  28. January 2022
  29. December 2021
  30. November 2021
  31. October 2021
  32. September 2021
  33. August 2021
  34. July 2021
  35. June 2021
  36. May 2021
  37. April 2021
  38. March 2021
  39. February 2021
  40. January 2021
  41. December 2020
  42. November 2020
  43. October 2020
  44. September 2020
  45. August 2020
  46. July 2020
  47. June 2020
  48. May 2020
  49. April 2020
  50. March 2020
  51. February 2020
  52. January 2020
  53. December 2019
  54. November 2019
  55. October 2019
  56. September 2019
  57. August 2019
  58. July 2019
  59. June 2019
  60. May 2019
  61. April 2019
  62. March 2019
  63. February 2019
  64. January 2019
  65. December 2018
  66. November 2018
  67. October 2018
  68. September 2018
  69. August 2018
  70. July 2018
  71. June 2018
  72. May 2018
  73. April 2018
  74. March 2018
  75. February 2018
  76. January 2018
  77. December 2017
  78. November 2017
  79. October 2017
  80. September 2017
  81. August 2017
  82. July 2017
  83. June 2017
  84. May 2017
  85. April 2017
  86. March 2017
  87. February 2017
  88. January 2017
  89. December 2016
  90. November 2016
  91. October 2016
  92. September 2016
  93. August 2016
  94. July 2016
  95. June 2016
  96. May 2016
  97. April 2016
  98. March 2016
  99. February 2016
  100. January 2016
  101. December 2015
  102. November 2015
  103. October 2015
  104. September 2015
  105. August 2015
  106. July 2015
  107. June 2015
  108. May 2015
  109. April 2015
  110. March 2015
  111. February 2015
  112. January 2015
  113. December 2014
  114. November 2014
  115. October 2014
  116. September 2014
  117. August 2014
  118. July 2014
  119. June 2014
  120. May 2014
  121. April 2014
  122. March 2014
  123. February 2014
  124. January 2014
  125. December 2013
  126. November 2013
  127. October 2013
  128. September 2013
  129. August 2013
  130. July 2013
  131. June 2013
  132. May 2013
  133. April 2013
  134. March 2013
  135. February 2013
  136. January 2013
  137. December 2012
  138. November 2012
  139. October 2012
  140. September 2012
  141. August 2012
  142. July 2012
  143. June 2012
  144. May 2012
  145. April 2012
  146. March 2012
  147. February 2012
  148. January 2012
  149. December 2011
  150. November 2011
  151. October 2011
  152. September 2011
  153. August 2011
  154. July 2011
  155. June 2011
  156. May 2011
  157. April 2011
  158. March 2011
  159. February 2011
  160. January 2011
  161. December 2010
  162. November 2010
  163. October 2010
  164. September 2010
  165. August 2010
  166. July 2010
  167. June 2010
  168. May 2010
  169. April 2010
  170. March 2010
  171. February 2010
  172. January 2010
  173. December 2009
  174. November 2009
  175. October 2009
  176. September 2009
  177. August 2009
  178. July 2009
  179. June 2009
  180. May 2009
  181. April 2009
  182. March 2009
  183. February 2009
  184. January 2009
  185. December 2008
  186. November 2008
  187. October 2008
  188. September 2008
  189. August 2008
  190. July 2008
  191. June 2008
  192. May 2008
  193. April 2008
  194. March 2008
  195. February 2008
  196. January 2008
  197. December 2007
  198. November 2007
  199. October 2007
  200. September 2007
  201. August 2007
  202. July 2007
  203. June 2007
  204. May 2007
  205. April 2007
  206. March 2007
  207. February 2007
  208. December 2006
  209. October 2006
  210. August 2006
  211. July 2006
  212. June 2006
  213. May 2006
  214. April 2006
  215. March 2006
  216. February 2006
  217. January 2006
  218. Meta:

Powered by WordPress