Julian Assange: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
+Rubberhose deniable encryption. we need a better section heading
Julian Assange notable conference and news appearances.
Line 11: Line 11:


Assange was the winner of the 2009 [[Amnesty International UK Media Awards|Amnesty International Media Award (New Media)]], awarded for exposing extra-judicial assassinations; the 2008 Economist [[Index on Censorship]] Award; and various other media awards.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tcij.org/about-2/teachers-and-speakers/julian-assange |title=Julian Assange at the centre for investigative journalism |publisher=tcij.org |date=2009-06-04 |accessdate=2010-04-01}}</ref>
Assange was the winner of the 2009 [[Amnesty International UK Media Awards|Amnesty International Media Award (New Media)]], awarded for exposing extra-judicial assassinations; the 2008 Economist [[Index on Censorship]] Award; and various other media awards.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tcij.org/about-2/teachers-and-speakers/julian-assange |title=Julian Assange at the centre for investigative journalism |publisher=tcij.org |date=2009-06-04 |accessdate=2010-04-01}}</ref>

Since WikiLeaks has opened, Assange has appeared at news-oriented conferences around Europe such as New Media Days '09 in Copenhagen<ref name=MediaDays>{{cite web|url=http://newmediadays.dk/julian-assange|title=The Subtle Roar of Online Whistle-Blowing|date=2009-11-19|publisher=New Media Days|accessdate=2010-04-08}}</ref> and hacker-oriented conferences, most notably as a special guest speaker at the 26th [[Chaos Communication Congress]]<ref name=Release>{{cite web|url=http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3567.en.html|title=WikiLeaks Release 1.0: Insight into vision, motivation and innovation|date=2009-12-30|publisher=26th Chaos Communication Congress|accessdate=2010-04-08}}</ref>. He has recently appeared on international news agencies such as [[Al Jazeera English]]<ref name=aljazeera>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1O7jL_hKXQ|title=Video of US attack in Iraq 'genuine'|date=2010-04-05|publisher=AlJazeeraEnglish|accessdate=2010-04-09}}</ref> and [[RT (TV network)|RT]]<ref name=rt>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QEdAykXxoM|title=WikiLeaks editor on Apache combat video: No excuse for US killing civilians|date=2010-04-06|publisher=RussiaToday|accessdate=2010-04-09}}</ref> to discuss the release of of the [[July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike]].


==Early life==
==Early life==

Revision as of 15:53, 9 April 2010

Julian Assange
Julian Assange at 26C3, 2009

Julian Assange (/æˈsɑːnʒ/; born in the 1970s[1]) is an Australian journalist, programmer and Internet activist, who lived in East Africa as of 2008.[1]

Wikileaks

Julian Assange at New Media Days 09 in Copenhagen

He is known for his involvement in Wikileaks, a whistleblower website. Assange sits on its nine-member advisory board and is a prominent media spokesman for Wikileaks. He has also been described as the site's director[2] and founder[3] (although he does not use the latter term for himself[4]), and has stated that he has the final decision in the process of vetting documents submitted to the site.[5] Like all others working for the site, Assange was an unpaid volunteer as of January 2010; being able to self-finance his work because of money he made earlier with Internet-related activities.[4]

Assange was the winner of the 2009 Amnesty International Media Award (New Media), awarded for exposing extra-judicial assassinations; the 2008 Economist Index on Censorship Award; and various other media awards.[6]

Since WikiLeaks has opened, Assange has appeared at news-oriented conferences around Europe such as New Media Days '09 in Copenhagen[7] and hacker-oriented conferences, most notably as a special guest speaker at the 26th Chaos Communication Congress[8]. He has recently appeared on international news agencies such as Al Jazeera English[9] and RT[10] to discuss the release of of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike.

Early life

Assange does not publish his exact age,[11] but has stated that he was born in the 1970s.[1] According to an Australian newspaper article published in 1995, he was 23 years old at that time.[12]

Assange has said that because his parents ran a touring theatre company, he was enrolled in 37 schools and six universities in Australia over the course of his early life.[1]

Assange helped to write the 1997 book Underground: Tales of Hacking, Madness and Obsession on the Electronic Frontier which credits him as researcher.[13] It draws from his teenage experiences as a member of a hacker group named "International Subversives", which involved a 1991 raid of his Melbourne home by the Australian Federal Police.[3][14] Wired has pointed out that there exist similarities between Assange and the character called "Mendax" in the book.[15] Assange allegedly accessed various computers (belonging to an Australian university, a telecommunications company and other organizations) via modem[12] to test their security flaws, and later pleaded guilty to 24 charges of hacking, but was released on bond for good conduct.[3][14]

Starting around 1997, Assange co-invented "Rubberhose deniable encryption", a cryptographic concept made into a software package for Linux designed to provide plausible deniability against rubber-hose cryptanalysis,[16] which he originally intended "as a tool for human rights workers who needed to protect sensitive data in the field"[17].

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julian Assange.
  1. ^ a b c d "Meet the Aussie behind Wikileaks". stuff.co.nz. 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  2. ^ McGreal, Chris. Wikileaks reveals video showing US air crew shooting down Iraqi civilians, The Guardian, April 5, 2010
  3. ^ a b c Richard Guilliat: "Rudd Government blacklist hacker monitors police", The Australian (30 May 2009) [lead-in to a longer article in that day's The Weekend Australian Magazine]
  4. ^ a b Interview with Julian Assange, spokesperson of Wikileaks: Leak-o-nomy: The Economy of Wikileaks
  5. ^ "Inside WikiLeaks' Leak Factory". Mother Jones. 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  6. ^ "Julian Assange at the centre for investigative journalism". tcij.org. 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  7. ^ "The Subtle Roar of Online Whistle-Blowing". New Media Days. 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  8. ^ "WikiLeaks Release 1.0: Insight into vision, motivation and innovation". 26th Chaos Communication Congress. 2009-12-30. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  9. ^ "Video of US attack in Iraq 'genuine'". AlJazeeraEnglish. 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  10. ^ "WikiLeaks editor on Apache combat video: No excuse for US killing civilians". RussiaToday. 2010-04-06. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  11. ^ "Inside WikiLeaks' Leak Factory". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  12. ^ a b Sharon Weinberger: Who Is Behind WikiLeaks? AOLNews, April 7, 2010
  13. ^ Suelette Dreyfus (2009-06-04). "Underground Book". Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  14. ^ a b "Inside WikiLeaks' Leak Factory". Mother Jones. 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  15. ^ Annabel Symington: Exposed: Wikileaks' secrets Wired UK, 1 September 2009
  16. ^ http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2008/07/wikileaks?currentPage=all
  17. ^ Suelette Dreyfus: The Idiot Savants' Guide to Rubberhose (accessed April 9, 2010
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julian_Assange&oldid=354965371"