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So Newsweek outed a guy who allegedly owns half a billion dollars in pseudo-untraceable, digital cash? I hope they're also going to chip in for a permanent secu
by jxf 13y ago
So Newsweek outed a guy who allegedly owns half a billion dollars in pseudo-untraceable, digital cash? I hope they're also going to chip in for a permanent security detail...
More seriously, I think they could have done a better job reporting on the identity without giving so much away:
* A picture of his house is posted, identical to the one in Google Street View
* The license plate is relatively clear in the high-resolution image
* His exact address has more or less already been discovered using only the information in the article
* Full names of family members were used
It's a legitimate story -- understanding Nakomoto's motivations for creating Bitcoin as discovered from his past is a worthwhile topic. (For example, would your feelings about cryptocurrency change if it turned out Nakomoto was a high-level NSA operative?) But, again, it could have been reported in a way that didn't compromise his identity so thoroughly.
- Tyrannosaurs 13y agoI agree with you, but would temper it very slightly by saying that a man with a $400m fortune has some options here. That doesn't make it right and his wealth doesn't make him free game but it does mean that he's not completely been hung out to dry.
- unreal37 13y agoWhat if he doesn't have a $400m fortune? What if it never existed or he's destroyed the private keys? There's no proof here he has "money".
- ewoodrich 13y agoUsing any of his Bitcoin would attract far more attention than any dubiously sourced article though, and could risk proving both that he is Satoshi and still has access to an enormous amount of money. (For all we know right now he could have lost/destroyed all of his private keys).
- fnordfnordfnord 13y agoThey haven't presented any evidence. The Satoshi they found sounds like a plausible Satoshi but is it really him? If he is the real Satoshi he may have lost or discarded his private keys. Some snarky comment about how this is why bloggers aren't journalists because a "real" news organization has ethics or something.
- gedrap 13y ago>>> The Satoshi they found sounds like a plausible Satoshi but is it really him? Do you think stupid wannabe-thugs think that much?
- TeMPOraL 13y ago> Some snarky comment about how this is why bloggers aren't journalists because a "real" news organization has ethics or something. Honestly, I always thought it was the other way around. This situation only confirms that.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y agoI should have said snarky and ironic.
- Tyrannosaurs 13y agoNewsweek was sold recently and it's not the publication it used to be.
- greyskull 13y agoIt's a joke, really. It's like she didn't even think about what she was doing... I encourage people to send her an email voicing whatever opinion you have, it's readily available (I don't know if it's against HN rules, so I won't post it myself just yet).
- polymatter 13y agoWell, I can't see how its against HN rules to post it. Her email is lmcgrathgoodman (at) gmail (dot) com. Thats the email she posts on the contact section of her own website (http://leahmcgrathgoodman.com/ http://leahmcgrathgoodman.com/). To be clear, I am not encouraging anyone send her abusive emails, or anything that might be illegal. I am simply posting her contact details in the context of people wanting to tell her what they felt about this article. She is an investigative journalist who is no stranger to courting trouble. She managed to get herself thrown out of the UK apparently for asking too many questions. I very much doubt that will do anything though. If you really felt that this article needed to be pulled/modified, you're probably better off contacting someone from Newsweek. http://mediakit.newsweekdailybeast.com/contact.html http://mediakit.newsweekdailybeast.com/contact.html But this seems to be their lead story. And they are getting all this extra publicity and page views because of it. So unless Satoshi or his family brings a court case I don't see why they would.
- bertil 13y agoAnd Jezebel will call you a rape-enabling phalocrat in 5, 4, 3…
- clouds 13y agodox the doxing doxer Seriously, the story is best of psyops.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y agoA determined attacker (the kind that needs worrying about) would find Satoshi even if Newsweek hadn't posted a photo of the house or license plate in their article.
- jxf 13y agoRight, but this lowers the bar to any random yahoo who's capable of a Google search, rather than just "determined attackers". That's part of the issue.
- johnward 13y agoYeah this lowers the bar to the level that any random person that is dumb enough to rob a bank or gas station could find the guy.
- gknoy 13y agoGiven that San Bernardino county and its neighbor, Riverside county, have a reputation as a "meth capitol" of California, my guess is that a substantially higher number than average of people within easy driving distance of this man might fit into that category. Perhaps not "dumb", but "desperate" enough.
- jameshk 13y agoYou're right, they really did not think about the consequences did they...
- lucb1e 13y agoI'm sure they thought about the consequences. They just got themselves a huge load of publicity...
- danmaz74 13y agoI don't know if that's your case, but I can't help finding it hilarious to see so many anarcho-capitalists here criticizing Newsweek for following their own interest...
- runeks 13y agoWhy wouldn't anarcho-capitalists be entitled to criticize someone who follows their own interest? Are anarcho-capitalists not entitled to criticize thieves either?
- danmaz74 13y agoBecause they always say that following your own interest is the best way to assure the greater good. AFAIK thieves are excluded because they don't respect private property.
- dabernathy89 13y agoCan you even call it "outing" when he didn't bother to hide his identity?
- jxf 13y agoThere's a huge difference between knowing: * your name is Alice Smith and knowing: * your name is Alice Smith * your age * your car's license plate * the street address of where you live and work * the names and identities of your close family members * the fact that you are worth ~$400M
- disbelief 13y agoStill though, if you're even somewhat worried about protecting your anonymity, why would you use your full name? It might seem that being one "Alice Smith" amongst thousands is pretty good anonymity, but cross-reference that against people with the expertise and ability required to implement something like Bitcoin, and I bet that list gets really short really fast. For the record, I do still think it was sleazy and unnecessary to publish his car's license plate and a photo of his house, (even though they would have been easy enough for people to figure out based on the other personal information unearthed in the article).
- dpcheng2003 13y agoI think the real story is how Satoshi unveiled the elusive Newsweek reporter. I didn't realize those were still around! /sarcasm