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Malware researcher Dancho Danchev gone missing since August

zdnet.com

41–46 of 46 posts

Re: Malware researcher Dancho Danchev gone missing since August

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Belgium != Bulgaria The rest of what you said makes sense, and it is possible that this is a script kid trying to make a name for himself - I would be very weary about making that assumption though without more serious evidence.

Dancho is not a "script kid". I met him in September in a meeting for international law enforcement. He was lecturing.

I assume you're that Mikko Hypponen?

http://mikko.hypponen.com/

Re: Malware researcher Dancho Danchev gone missing since August

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Belgium != Bulgaria The rest of what you said makes sense, and it is possible that this is a script kid trying to make a name for himself - I would be very weary about making that assumption though without more serious evidence.

Dancho is not a "script kid". I met him in September in a meeting for international law enforcement. He was lecturing.

Cool. As I stated above, I did not mean to suggest that he was one, simply that I didn't know enough to take a position.

Re: Malware researcher Dancho Danchev gone missing since August

#43
I don't mean to insult Mr. Danchev, but let's not dismiss the most obvious answer: He may be having psychological issues or otherwise be pulling some shenanigans.

There's no evidence to suggest otherwise at this point in time. The pictures don't suggest anything to me and he's perfectly capable of not answering the phone, email, or instant messages.

I hope he is ok, both physically and mentally.

Re: Malware researcher Dancho Danchev gone missing since August

#44
post #43

I don't mean to insult Mr. Danchev, but let's not dismiss the most obvious answer: He may be having psychological issues or otherwise be pulling some shenanigans. There's no evidence to suggest otherwise at this point in time. The pictures don't suggest anything to me and he's perfectly capable of not answering the phone, email, or instant messages. I hope he is ok, both physically and mentally.

If you're going to downvote me into oblivion at least counter my points with facts. What does the real evidence show here?

Re: Malware researcher Dancho Danchev gone missing since August

#45
Both of the images are large PNG files, which leaves lots of room for steganographic data. Given that they're meaningless if interpreted literally (but seem to vaguely hint at meaning, which makes them good as red herrings), that seems like the most likely interpretation.

So the question is, who has the key? It seems like if anyone has it, Ryan Naraine should. But if he did, his post would be quite different.

Re: Malware researcher Dancho Danchev gone missing since August

#46
According to Dnevnik.bg (http://www.dnevnik.bg/tehnologii/2011/01/17/1026425_ekspertu...):

Dancho Danchev, an expert on cybersecurity, is placed in a psychiatric hospital in Bulgaria. The information was confirmed by two sources of "Dnevnik", although the hospital refused to comment.

[...]

[...]

[...] according to reliable source of Dnevnik he was placed in a Bulgarian psychiatric hospital since December 11.

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