ABC News: Older, quieter than WikiLeaks, Cryptome perseveres

[Poll_Blind]

Older, quieter than WikiLeaks, Cryptome perseveres

The FBI came calling after maps of urban rail tunnels and gas lines were posted online. Microsoft aggressively complained following the website's publication of a confidential handbook on company policies for helping police. Other critics have gone further, warning that some of the postings could aid America's enemies.

Yet Cryptome carries on.

The website, unfamiliar to the general public, is well-known in circles where intelligence tactics, government secrets and whistle-blowing are primary concerns. Since its creation in 1996, Cryptome has amassed more than 70,000 files — including lists of secret agents, high-resolution photos of nuclear power plants, and much more.

Its co-founder and webmaster, a feisty 77-year-old architect, doesn't hesitate when asked why.

"I'm a fierce opponent of government secrets of all kinds," says John Young. "The scale is tipped so far the other way that I'm willing to stick my neck out and say there should be none."

I've been reading Cryptome off and on since it started in the mid 90's, though I have no idea how I would have gotten that link. Maybe Slashdot? Anyway, it's the Real Deal™, and always has been. Sometimes, it gets a little too real, and I've found myself reading something and thinking "Could I get in trouble for just reading this?"

But the guy who I think of as the head of the site, the aforementioned feisty 77-year-old John Young, takes no shit from the FBI or from anyone else for that matter, and has been on the cuttingist edge of free information since way before it was cool.

Good read. Read Cryptome. It's not for everybody, but if it's your thing and you didn't know it was out there, you're going to be in a kind of information heaven. You'll find out how much you really want to take the 'red pill', to steal a Matrix reference.

PB

[Lint Head]

1. Thanks for this. I have bookmarked it.

[cantbeserious]

2. Thank You!

eom

[Buns_of_Fire]

3. Fascinating stuff. Thank you.

I figure if Mr. Young isn't worried about archiving it, I'm not too worried about reading it. After all, you never know when some seemingly-unrelated tidbit of information might prove handy when the zombies arise.

[Dawson Leery]

4. k/r

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Mr. Young should avoid trips to Sweden or look into becoming an Australian politician.

Pissing off the bosses can be hazardous.

[dreamnightwind]

6. OK to read it through normal browsing, or

...or should we stealth our reading with tor or some other method?

I've been a little cautious about what sites I go to, since everyone's web activity is now being tracked by TPTB. And I haven't gotten into any of the various techniques that are out there to browse privately, other than I use StartPage (SSL) instead of vanilla Google for searches.

I've heard of Cryptome, but to my knowledge I've never gone there, maybe I'll check it out, anyway thanks for the tip, sounds interesting.

[Poll_Blind]

7. My view is pretty much the same as Buns_of_Fire's response #3. nt

PB