| Personally I don't even think these stories should be on HN... nothing good can come from them because all anyone can offer is pure speculation. Now, in the interest of speculation, I have some conspiracy theories to suggest. Normally I wouldn't post conspiracy theories, but I think conspiracies have way more validity when you're talking about the security community. So, check out these links: - https://theintercept.com/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/ - https://theintercept.com/document/2014/02/24/art-deception-t... Then consider these conspiracy theories: 1) Jacob Appelbaum works for an intelligence service and was compromised, and this is their way of pulling him from the field 2) Jacob Appelbaum works for an intelligence service and was compromised, and this is a rival intelligence service's way of pulling him from the field 3) Jacob Appelbaum does not work for an intelligence service, but rather is the victim of a smearing campaign by an intelligence service My personal opinion is that the guy is an asshole, his (ex-)friends are fed up with him, and they severely overstepped their bounds in attacking him. The line about "what you have to do with a sociopath" (paraphrasing) was particularly alarming for me; that was a clear signal of desire for vindication. |