Author: cypherfigures
-
We honour Phil Zimmermann
Phil Zimmermann,Ā programmer, computer scientistĀ andĀ cryptographer. He developed theĀ Pretty Good PrivacyĀ (PGP) software, which became the battle line for the cypherpunk movement. Since winning the Second World War by secretly deciphering German Enigma messages, the Five Eyes secret services have been intent on secretly deciphering all communications everywhere. PGP, which uses public-key encryption and the web of trust…
-
We honour Dr. Aaron Westrick
Dr. Aaron was the Research Director forĀ Second Chance Body ArmorĀ (āSCBAā), supplier of body armour in the United States. Westrick warned top officials at SCBA and Zylon manufacturer Toyobo Co. Ltd. that covering up defects and ignoring the problem would risk the lives of federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and lead to disastrous…
-
Lyn Alden
We honour LynĀ Alden, Macro Economist andĀ Bitcoiner. She has a background in engineering and takes an analytical approach to the study of finance and economics. In addition to her own investment strategy practice, Lyn appears on Bitcoin and economic podcasts. She is sought out for her penetrating insights, detailed analysis and great communication. Check out her…
-
Kim DotCom
Kim DotCom,Ā once notorious for being behind a file-sharing service that frustrated USA copyright holders, is now the founder of mega.nz, a zero-knowledge file-sharing service. Zero-knowledge services are the epitome of the cyberpunk ethos ā they provide privacy from the service provider and, therefore, from the service providerās government.
-
Mike Godwin EFF
We honour MikeĀ Godwin, Lawyer, first staff counsel of theĀ Electronic Frontier FoundationĀ (EFF), Ā general counselĀ for theĀ Wikimedia Foundation, and policy and privacy lead at Anonym,Ā a privacy-safe advertising startup. Mike has worked tirelessly to promote privacy in the Internet age.
-
Chelsea Manning
We honour ChelseaĀ Manning, the whistleblower on US Army deeds in the Iran/Iraq war. She leaked materials to WikiLeaks. The leaks shocked the world, and one can understand why the US Army would not want the information out. She is now free and may even run for the Senate; Assange is not fairing as well.
-
Peter McCormack
We honour PeterĀ McCormack, What Bit Coin DidĀ podcast. Peterās superpower is asking dumb questions of brilliant people. He has a throng of well-chosen guests who he does not always see 100% eye-to-eye with.
-
Donald Knuth
DonaldĀ Knuth, āfather of theĀ analysis of algorithms,ā is aĀ theoretical computer scientistĀ and author of the multi-volume workĀ The Art of Computer Programming. Knuth managed to find beauty in his work and shared it with all of us.
-
Sherron Watkins, Enron
We honour SherronĀ Watkins,Ā Enron. Watkins was called to testify before committees of theĀ U.S. House of Representatives primarily about her warnings to Enronās then CEOĀ Kenneth LayĀ aboutĀ accountingĀ irregularities in theĀ financial statements.
-
Guy Pearse, Author
We honour GuyĀ Pearse, author and Researcher at the Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, Australia. He is the type of journalist who writes books rather than column inches.
-
Gavin Andresen
We honour GavinĀ Andresen, programmer and early developer of Bitcoin core. He took over from Satoshi when Bitcoinās success was far from a done deal. He also established theĀ Bitcoin Foundation, later leaving software engineering to head the Foundation.
-
Crypto Cito
We honour Cryptocito, YouTuber and arranger ofĀ the COSMOSverseĀ conferences. As one of the better cryptocurrency commentators, he has focussed on the COSMOS ecosystem. It might be his openness and transparency that bring in the audience.
-
BSD Daemon
We honour the BSD Daemon Mascot!Ā BSD is great software and has a great Mascot, whether or not it has turned into a droid.
-
ToniĀ Ellen Hoffman
We honour ToniĀ Ellen Hoffman, AM, nurse, whistleblower. She informed the Ā QueenslandĀ PoliticianĀ Rob MessengerĀ aboutĀ Jayant Patel, a surgeon who was the subject of theĀ Morris InquiryĀ and later theĀ Davies Commission. She originally began to raise doubts about the ability of Patel with hospital management and other staff.
-
Satyendra Dubey, India National Highways
We honour Satyendra Dubey, anĀ Indian Engineering ServiceĀ (IES) officer. He was the Project Director in theĀ National Highways Authority of IndiaĀ (NHAI) at Koderma,Ā Jharkhand.
-
Anonymous
We honour Anonymous, the militant hacker group, who attacks wrongdoers, often by doxing their wrongdoings. This is the other side to the cypherpunkās ideals: these wrongdoers would have preferred to have their wrongdoings kept private.
-
Vitalic Buterin
We honour Vitalic Buterin, Ethereum co-founder. Vitalic has been the driving force for Ethereum from the beginning, and has found much admiration for his sincere and thoughtful leadership.
-
Zaki Manian
We honour Zaki Manian, co-founder of Sommelier and a COSMOS contributor to many areas, including IBC, smart contracts, and Agoric.
-
Nic Carter
We honour NicĀ Carter, Macro Economist and Bitcoiner, who has been analysing Bitcoin for many years. He is a partner at Castle Island Ventures and believes āThe Bank Secrecy Act is unconstitutional and must be repealedā. He is not a Bitcoin Maximalist. He is a popular contributor to podcasts.
-
Nick Szabo
NickĀ Szabo, a computerĀ scientist, legal scholar,Ā andĀ cryptographer, developed the phrase and concept of āsmart contractsā, popularised by Ethereum.
-
St. Jude Mihlon
St.Ā JudeĀ Milhon, a self-taught programmer, civil rights advocate,Ā writer,Ā editor, advocate for women in computing,Ā hackerĀ and author.Ā Jude was someone whose spirit led her to be a cypherpunk, and the programming and activism followed.
-
Hal Finney
HalĀ Finney, a computer programmer militantly concerned with privacy, ran twoĀ anonymous remailers and worked for PGP corporation until his retirement. He received the first Bitcoin transaction from Bitcoinās creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
-
David Lee Chaum
David-Lee Chaum,Ā computer scientist,Ā cryptographer, and cypherpunk, did the important initial work on decentralised blockchains He invented digital cash and developed eCash.
-
AndyĀ MĆ¼ller Maguhn
AndyĀ MĆ¼ller Maguhn, principally known as a hacker and a member of theĀ Chaos Computer Club (CCC), had a close association with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
-
Adam Back
AdamĀ Back, cypherpunk embracing bitcoin and blockchains. He inventedĀ HashcashĀ which influenced Bitcoin, where he has also been involved and is the CEO ofĀ Blockstream, which was born out of the Bitcoin revolution. He also is very much a professional cryptanalyst.
-
Eric Hughes
EricĀ (āCypherpunks write codeā)Ā Hughes, mathematician, computer programmer, and core founding cypherpunk, did important work to help found the movement with theĀ anonymous remailer; he administered the CypherpunkĀ mailing list and authored theĀ Cypherpunkās Manifesto.
-
Adi Shamir
AdiĀ Shamir, mathematician, cryptographer and computer scientist. He is the joint inventor of the Ā RivestāShamirāAdlemanĀ (RSA) cipher and a joint discoverer ofĀ differential cryptanalysis.
-
Ryan Sean Adams
Ryan Sean Adams, co-host of Bankless. The concept behind Bankless, is financial freedomĀ without having to have a bank account.
-
David Hoffman
DavidĀ Hoffman,Ā BanklessĀ co-host, came to cryptocurrencies through ethereum and innovated with real-estate real-world assets (RWA) on the blockchain.
-
Julian Assange
JulianĀ Assange, programmer, hacker, cypherpunk, publisher and founder of WikiLeaks. In 2010, when WikiLeaks published the Chelsea Manning leaks, Julian was targeted by the United States for extradition.Ā You are forever in our thoughts.
-
Satoshi Nakamoto
We honour SatoshiĀ Nakamoto, the pseudonymous person(s) behind Bitcoin. So we do not know who he/she/they/it is/are. We probably never will. It seemsĀ fitting that someone being such a key person(s) behind such a key cypherpunk initiative should beĀ pseudonymousĀ and then vanish.
-
Andreas Antonopoulos
We honour AndreasĀ Antonopoulos, who has been one of the best entertaining and most important speakers on Bitcoin. His arguments changed the minds of many in the early days of Bitcoin.
-
Richard Stallman, FSF
We honour RichardĀ (Matthew)Ā StallmanĀ (rms), Free Software Foundation (FSF), programmer and father of theĀ free software movement, to allow users the freedom to use, study, distribute, and modify software.
-
Jonathan Mohan
We honour Jonathan Mohan, podcaster on the Speaking Of Bitcoin (formerly Letās Talk-Bitcoin) podcast. This was a great podcast in the earlier years of Bitcoin and Ethereum and helped share the message.
-
Whitfield Diffie
mathematician, cryptographer and pioneer of public key cryptography. His important work on key distribution, the DiffieāHellman key exchange, gave birth to asymmetric key algorithms.
-
Julian Assange
JulianĀ Assange, programmer, hacker, cypherpunk, publisher and founder of WikiLeaks. In 2010, when WikiLeaks published the Chelsea Manning leaks, Julian was targeted by the United States for extradition.
-
Zooko Wilcox
Zooko Wilcox OāHearn, Electric Coin Company, ZCash. Zooko is a cryptographer and a cypherpunk who worked on DigiCash with David Chaum and was behind establishing ZCash, a privacy-based cryptocurrency.
-
Alan Turing
AlanĀ Turing, mathematician, computer scientist and cryptanalyst. Until his work on decrypting the German enigma machine during the 2nd World War was made public, he was known mostly in computer science for his papers on computability, specifically for Turing Machines.
-
Linus Torvalds
Really, I’m not out to destroy Microsoft. That will just be a completely unintentional side effect.
-
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a giant of mathematics and theoretical physics. His life was an inspiration to those who followed him. The rise of Hitler early in his life led to his immigration to the USA. He was not afraid to speak out on politics and society, similar to cypherpunks.
