Norway Norway - Arjen Kamphuis, 47, Dutch citizen, Bodø, 20 Aug 2018

[cybervampira]

Norway police probe disappearance of WikiLeaks associate

WikiLeaks tweeted on Saturday about Kamphuis's "strange disappearance", saying he had been missing since August 20 when he left his hotel in the northern Norwegian town of Bodo.

It added that Kamphuis had a ticket for a flight departing on August 22 from Trondheim, a city located more than 700 kilometres (435 miles) south of Bodo.

"The train between the two takes (approximately) 10 hours," suggesting he disappeared either in Bodo, Trondheim or on the train, WikiLeaks said, triggering numerous conspiracy theories on Twitter.

Norwegian police on Sunday said they were investigating the disappearance of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's associate Arjen Kamphuis, a cyber security expert, who was last seen in northern Norway.



A website set up to gather information on the missing person says: "He is 47 years old, 1.78 meters tall and has a normal posture. He was usually dressed in black and carrying his black backpack. He is an avid hiker."

There have reportedly been two unconfirmed possible sightings, one in Alesund, Norway and the other in Ribe, Denmark.

'Strange disapppearance' of WikiLeaks consultant in Norway | DW | 02.09.2018

WikiLeaks on Twitter

Norwegian/Dutch/German/French press:

Nederlandsk mann savnet – sist sett i Bodø

Arjen Kamphuis (47) voert strijd tegen digitale spionage en nu is hij plots vermist

"Rätselhaftes Verschwinden" von Wikileaks-Mitarbeiter | DW | 02.09.2018

La police norvégienne enquête sur la disparition d’Arjen Kamphuis, un co-fondateur de WikiLeaks

 

[ZaZara]

Still missing without a trace. Very much out of character.

via @ncilla Ancilla on Twitter

 

[ZaZara]

Politiet har startet etterforskning etter at Arjen (47) ble meldt savnet

Kamphuis, who works in cyber security, had been spending two weeks in Norway before checking out a hotel in Bodø on August 20th. Since then no one has seen him. According to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, he was awaited home on August 22nd.

Operations Manager Odd Ivar Pettersen in Nordland Police District tells VG that the investigation was initiated on Sunday morning.

"The investigation involves, among other things, surveys of electronic tracks, such as phone tracking, and we are now waiting for answers to some surveys. Our goal is to locate the missing man, " says Pettersen.

The operations manager says the police have received more tips on the matter, including from Ålesund and elsewhere in Western Norway.


BBM

Why did it take 11 days before he was reported missing?

 

[JnRyan]

While in the Navy I was in both Bodo and Trondheim. Trondheim is a fair size city while Bodo didn't appear to be that large to me. I spent most of my time in Norway in either Trondheim or Andoya and never experienced a crime of any type and neither did any of the group I was with while we there. I found the Norwegians to be some of the friendliest of all the foreign places I've been to in the world.

 

[ZaZara]

Cyber security specialist Arjen Kamphuis missing

Cyber security specialist and former Computable expert Arjen Kamphuis, founder of the open source consulting company Gendo, has been missing in Norway since 20 August 2018. The Norwegian police have meanwhile started an official investigation procedure for the specialist in computer security and digital rights.

According to the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, Kamphuis, who teaches journalists and human rights activists about computer security and safe communication with sources, has warned of worldwide espionage of secret services in recent years and works with a number of whistleblowers. He is said to be a good friend of the Australian journalist, programmer, internet activist and founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange. He also wrote the book 'Information Security for Journalists'.

In addition to former Computable experts, Kamphuis has also been cited as a source for articles in the past, as published on Computable, and was part of discussions on future visions aimed at, among other things, cloud, vendor independence and open source software.

The computer specialist was supposed to come back to the Netherlands on 22 August from a holiday in Norway, but was not on the plane. After he missed several private and business appointments, people in his circles raised the alarm. Kamphuis was last seen in the Norwegian town of Bodø on 20 August when he checked out of his hotel. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware of the disappearance and is said to be in contact with the local authorities in Norway. Meanwhile, it is said that Kamphuis would have been seen in Ribe last week, a place in southwest Denmark.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Cybersicherheitsexperte mit Verbindungen zu Assange auf mysteriöse Weise in Norwegen verschwunden

The Norwegian police confirmed on Sunday that they had opened an investigation into the disappearance of the 47-year-old and said that at the moment they were in the dark about the events that may have preceded all this.

In the missing persons report, which is distributed via social media, Kamphuis is described as an "enthusiastic hiker", which is why some commentators assume that the man with connections to Assange may have lost his way while hiking in mountainous terrain.

Many others assumed worse in view of Kamphuis' connection to WikiLeaks.

For example, one user suggested that Kamphuis might have received a "secret task" from WikiLeaks, so he had to disappear and stop all communication.

Some WikiLeaks supporters suspect that the man may have been abducted or even killed in a covert CIA operation. As unlikely as it may be, but just the fact that this possibility has been considered at all has worried some users.


BBM


Rumours and conspiracy theories in overdrive, but of course AK being who he is, there is considerable interest in the case from all over the world.

Had he been hiking in the days before his disappearance? Was there time for another walk before he had to catch his train? Did he change his mind and book a plane? Flight from Bodø to Tronheim takes about one hour instead of 10 hours by train. This would give him time for a day walk.

Has the Norwegian Police been able to access his phone?

Here's one of his lectures, from 2016, for those of us who like to be educated. He's sharp and he's funny. Topic is bloody serious.

 

[ZaZara]

Missing Arjen may have gone on a hike

At present, the police [in the Netherlands] do not assume that Arjen Kamphuis, who went missing in Norway, has been the victim of a crime. "We suspect that he has gone to the mountains to hike. His latest purchases suggest this," according to a police spokesman.

For this reason, the police have decided not to send an investigation team to Norway. "We are in close contact with the Norwegian police and hope that he will emerge again of his own accord," it is said.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

De vrienden van de vermiste computerexpert Arjen Kamphuis houden met alles rekening

He does not often harass his friends with holiday snapshots. What's more, the phone is oftenswitched off on holiday. And Kamphuis sometimes adds a day at the end of the trip. The friends are not of the most anxious kind. But now it turns out that on 22 August he did not turn up for his return flight from Norway, they are terribly worried.

The Amsterdam ICT expert Arjen Kamphuis (47) is missing. His last sign of life was on 20 August. That day Kamphuis checked out in a hotel in Bodø, a village in the north of Norway. The seat on the return flight from Trondheim remained empty. Friends and family fear that he has gone hiking in the region of Bodø: a vast and rugged landscape.

Kamphuis is an avid hiker and mountaineer. His friends reckon with all possible options. "He's not a daredevil," says Helma de Boer. "For trips through dangerous areas he sought company, and he always had good equipment with him. His style is: better safe than sorry."


BBM

 

[JerseyGirl]

Kamphuis, a cyber security expert and co-author of a handbook for investigative journalists on how to keep themselves and their work safe from government spying, has been missing since August 20th, when he checked out of a hotel in the town of Bodø in northern Norway.

The disappearance was first reported on Twitter by Ancilla Van De Leest, former Dutch Pirate Party frontrunner and privacy activist on Friday. She wrote that Kamphuis was going to board a train from Bodø to Trondheim, which usually takes 10 hours.

On August 22, Kamphuis was expected to leave Trondheim for Amsterdam. De Leest said he had already bought the plane ticket but nobody has heard from him since he left the hotel in Bodø. That means the man might have gone missing either in Bodø, in Trondheim, or somewhere in between during the train journey.

Julian Assange's associate cyber security expert mysteriously missing in Norway

 

[ZaZara]

Security expert Arjen Kamphuis missing in Norway

The Dutch security and privacy expert Arjen Kamphuis is missing in Norway. Kamphuis was on holiday in the country for two weeks when he checked out of his hotel on 20 August. After he sent an e-mail on the same day, nothing more was heard from the 47-year-old Dutchman.

A friend of Kamphuis told the Norwegian VG that he had 'disappeared from the radar' more often during holidays, but that it was nothing for him to miss out on private and working arrangements. The Norwegian police have since opened an investigation. Among other things, they look at 'electronic tracks', including telephone data. Friends suspect that Kamphuis has gone for a hike near the northern town of Bodø.

Kamphuis, co-founder and CTO of Gendo, was part of an advisory committee on electronic voting. He also wrote the book Information Security for Journalists (pdf), that describes how journalists can protect their systems, e-mail and data. The hashtag #FindArjen was started on Twitter. The e-mail address findarjen@gmail.com has also been created , tips about the loss of Arjen Kamphuis can be sent to that address.


BBM


I included the link to the book Information Security for Journalists.

From the introduction of the book:

This handbook is a very important practical tool for journalists and
it is of particular importance to investigative reporters. For the first
time journalists are now aware that virtually every electronic
communication we make or receive is being recorded, stored and
subject to analysis and action. As this surveillance is being
conducted in secret, without scrutiny, transparency or any realistic
form of accountability, our sources, our stories and our professional
work itself is under threat.
Journalists were dismayed by the realisation that almost all digital
communications are now being recorded; for them and their
sources there are real risks and now danger in their work. This
danger does not just worry reporters, whistleblowers and other
sources, but all those who hear privileged information and whose
privacy is considered fundamental to the courts, the practice of
law, and justice in all of its meanings. Lawyers and accountants
and their clients are now without the protection of client
confidentiality, and are vulnerable to the secret surveillance of an
increasingly authoritarian and unaccountable state.

 

[Lorrie]

According to our local newspaper do the police think he went for hiking in the mountain based on his latest purchase: https://www.an.no/bodo/nyheter/euro...et-tror-arjen-47-dro-pa-fjelltur/s/5-4-851742

 

[ZaZara]

According to our local newspaper do the police think he went for hiking in the mountain based on his latest purchase: https://www.an.no/bodo/nyheter/euro...et-tror-arjen-47-dro-pa-fjelltur/s/5-4-851742

I am sorry I cannot read that (For å fortsette må du ha et abonnement og være innlogget. Sorry, no abonnement!) Found some other sources from Norway and they mainly quote the Amsterdam Police.

IMHO LE has access to data from his bank and credit card, hence they know what purchases he made before he disappeared. Let's hope the manage to locate his phone or the last place where it pinged, this would give them an indication of where to search for AK.

Two weeks is too long and this is not looking good.

 

[ZaZara]

Raymond Johansen on Twitter

Raymond Johansen‏ @RayJoha2

UPDATE: #ArjenKamphuis "We are at the very start of initial investigations. There are some leads we are checking out, but we have no firm theory at this time, " - Tommy Bech, operations manager Nordland County police - September 4th. #FindArjen


BBM

 

[Lorrie]

The train to Trondheim from Bodø goes twice a day, and I would guess he was supposed to take the night train if he was hiking. So quite short time to travel far away, and the mountains close to the town is very popular to hike in all the time. He should be found by now if he did that...

 

[ZaZara]

The train to Trondheim from Bodø goes twice a day, and I would guess he was supposed to take the night train if he was hiking. So quite short time to travel far away, and the mountains close to the town is very popular to hike in all the time. He should be found by now if he did that...

That is an interesting take. The -automatic - suggestion here was that he would prefer the day train, because the views are so spectacular.

Is it known what he was doing in Bodø? Was he hiking there during his holiday? Or did he arrive there on a hike? What equipment does he have? and so on....

 

[Lorrie]

Yes, but since the day train leaves about 12 o clock it gives almost no time to go hiking local either. The day train arrive also late in the evening to Trondheim and can be difficult to get a hotel room if you haven't already booked.

Almost no information is given in the news articles I have read. But in one of them it stated that he was hiking in the Bodø area.. If he did not rent a car it can be difficult to travel around.

 

[ZaZara]

Norwegian KRIPOS involved in search for missing Arjen Kamphuis

On August 29, Kripos [ National Criminal Investigation Service ] received a request from Dutch police about a missing person in Norway. Two days later, the case was transferred to local police. Now the police in Nordland ask Kripos for assistance in the search.

According to the police, Arjen Kamphuis went missing on a holiday trip in Norway. The first reports indicated that he had traveled to Svalbard, but after further investigation it became apparent that he had not been there. According to police information.

It eventually became apparent that missing man have stayed in a hotel in Bodø and that he would have checked out Monday, August 20th, at around 14 hrs. According to the press release this is the last known observation of the missing man.

On Tuesday afternoon police attorney Trond Lakselvhaug of the police in Nordland made known that the police have now asked Kripos for assistance in the investigation.


BBM

Two o'clock in the afternoon is late to start a hike, unless it is a short one. Bodø is a place where the sun hardly sets summer, so you might walk till late. But it was late August already and he had a train to catch ~ if he wanted to catch that train around 21.00 hrs.

 

[dotr]

 

[Lorrie]

It is not impossible to go for a hike in the mountains or forrest and be back in a couple of hours max. 3-4 hours and reach the train 21. 00 hrs.. You can walk to reach the paths or take a citybus and walk from there. None of the buses in town goes to places near the paths so people have to be prepared to walk for a while. You have to pay with card if you take a bus so if he did that it should be shown in the bank . To get further away you have to have access to a car and it isnt mentioned anywhere that he had a car, it will also be a bit too short time if he intended to take the night train...

August 20th was the day the schools begun after the summer holiday so it would be less people out walking during the daytime than the days before and it was raining heavily that morning so it would have been very wet walking outside the paths. But it is not that easy to get lost or that steep in the mountains to have an accident without some one noticing it.

 

[ZaZara]

Noorse politie schaalt zoekactie vermiste Arjen Kamphuis op

The Norwegian police have deployed a special unit in the search for the missing Dutchman Arjen Kamphuis. The 47-year-old from Amsterdam was last seen two weeks ago in the north of Norway.

For the time being, the police do not assume that a crime has been committed, but they are now involving the special unit Kripos in the search. Kripos is a unit that investigates organised crime and missing persons.

Kamphuis is an experienced hiker. "We suspect he went there to hike in the region. It is a well-known hikingspot, with very rough terrain," says a friend of Kamphuis. The man from Amsterdam has been to the area more often for hiking, there are hardly any people living there. On 20 August Kamphuis checks out from a hotel in Bodø and since then he has been without trace.

Kamphuis is an expert in the field of internet safety and warned about the dangers of internet espionage. He worked with various whistleblowers and was also involved in WikiLeaks. He knows Julian Assange, the founder, personally. Yet the police do not automatically assume that Kamphuis' disappearance is related to his work.

BBM



Dutch broadcasters catching up at last on AK's disappearance.