Comeback attempt at CCC, Dec. 2023

Violet Blue: "Cybersecurity Roundup: January 2, 2024

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Jake Appelbaum’s ongoing hacker event ‘comeback’ tour saw him (reluctantly) kicked out of Chaos Computer Congress (CCC)

"This might be insider baseball for infosec people, but hacking communities need to be on the alert that Jake Appelbaum is seeing which infosec conferences won’t kick him out, or conveniently never banned him. CCC is one of those conferences. (My writeup on Appelbaum with citations and sources on the record, and his relationship with CCC, is here.) “Yesterday, Linus Neumann and Frank Rieger were visibly uncomfortable when they met with me to discuss my confrontation with Jacob Appelbaum… After I asked Jake why he is here, and letting him know that he is indeed not welcome here, I contacted Projektleitung and was lucky this was handled relatively swiftly… CCC had everything they needed to start an investigation themselves – he even already attempted to “rejoin” the ranks of the community last year at Hacking in Parallel. Waiting for another incident and then essentially requiring the affected party (me) to go through an involved process is grossly negligent.”
–It turns out, Jake has never been formally banned from any CCC event [Indeterminacy, maybe]

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

I suck at social media, and am still pretty rattled so please bear with me. Finding the right words will take time. #37c3 #ioerror

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

Yesterday, Linus Neumann and Frank Rieger were visibly uncomfortable when they met with me to discuss my confrontation with Jacob Appelbaum. It turns out, Jake has never been formally banned from any CCC event. #37c3 #ioerror

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

But what about https://twitter.com/chaosupdates/status/743796751694467073 then? Well. That tweet was an informal statement that couldn’t be backed up by a formal mandate in the organisational structure of CCC #37c3

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

Jake “voluntarily” stayed away from events until at least last year. It seems he changed his mind a while ago and is trying to find a way back in. #37c3

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

In our meeting, Linus wanted credit that the tweet worked up until now. Sure, something is better than nothing, but it’s far from enough. #37c3

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

After I asked Jake why he is here, and letting him know that he is indeed not welcome here, I contacted Projektleitung and was lucky this was handled relatively swiftly. But how was it handled. Well. After Linus was convinced that Jake was actually present, he and Frank arranged to meet. They asked him to leave this event and not return. This. Event. #37c3

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

Jake agreed. He didn’t leave because he isn’t allowed, he left because it became obvious even to him that his presence is to his own disadvantage. And if I remember the meeting yesterday right, then he also insisted that he is leaving voluntarily. I guess he really means well after all (nope) #37c3

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

So what to do? Linus and Frank asked me to go through the Schiedsstelle (Arbitration Board) so the matter can be formalised. Mind you, that was just right after me crying for nearly 2 hours and taking prescription drugs to be able to cope. #37c3

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

Continuing after a break of someone very kindly taking care of me, and providing me with even more valuable context for the abyss that is Jake Appelbaum. This is nuts. I will do it, but I should not have to. Jake’s trail of victims spans the globe, multiple communities and a decade plus. CCC had everything they needed to start an investigation themselves - he even already attempted to “rejoin” the ranks of the community last year at Hacking in Parallel. Waiting for another incident and then essentially requiring the affected party (me) to go through an involved process is grossly negligent. #37c3

tldr.nettime

Catalyst; or: Cataclysm; (@eaon@tldr.nettime.org)

Neither Linus nor Frank expected Jake to be this dumb. They essentially trusted that Jake was a rational actor that understands boundaries. It’s as if they never met him. As long as I’ve known him, he pushed every boundary that he was confronted with. Emotional, sexual, physical, whatever. It’s his MO. You gave him a soft border and now want credit that it worked out fine for a couple years. No. No credits for you. You knew, you could have done something, but instead you relied on the trust in your relationship with Jake. You are culpable. CCC as an organisation is culpable. You did not do enough #37c3

tldr.nettime