John L. Young, often hailed as a recognized hero of the digital age and co-founder of the secrets of the breakthrough transparent platform, passed away on March 28 in New York City. His death is relatively anonymous, in stark contrast to the thunderous revelations that define his groundbreaking work.
On June 4, Architect’s professional publication Archinect quietly admitted his death:
“Architect and co-founder John L. Young, the architect and co-founder (with his wife Deborah Natsios), died in March,” the publication reads. He died in a rehabilitation facility in Manhattan, according to the New York Times.
Decades before the world became familiar with the concept of organized digital leaks, Young was one of the first to grasp the potential of a new internet. He foresees his power to publish confidential government documents online, thereby keeping citizens informed and responsible for their actions.
Since June 1996 (a full decade of Wikileaks), Cryptome has been a ruthless publisher of thousands of documents, “governments around the world prohibit the use of free speech, privacy, and cryptography-related documents”, as the website’s creator has carefully watched. Young founded Cryptome, which he affectionately called “the free public library”, was a true pioneer of Wikileaks, fearlessly publishing original government documents that were classified and uncategorized.
From photos of Barack Obama’s close-up protection team and a complete transcript of security arrangements implemented by the Department of Defense to detailed plans for sensitive facilities (those are hidden revelations, not Wikileaks”.
At a critical moment in 2011, Cryptome made international headlines by releasing an unedited version of the 251,000 U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks in 2010. Until then, Wikileaks and its media partners published only a few thousand of these documents, carefully edited sensitive information, such as individual names and details such as those of individuals who are unparalleled and contacts.
Critics and the U.S. government strongly argued at the time that secretly unedited publications could harm the sources mentioned in the documents, especially authoritarian regimes or informants in war zones working for the U.S. embassy.
Although Wikileak is a direct competitor in the field of transparency, Young was a period of a protracted stalemate between Julian Assange and the U.S. government, especially in 2020. Young sees it as persecution and boldly challenged the U.S. government to pursue him as well.
“I published an unedited diplomatic cable on September 1, 2011 on Cryptome.org, and the publication is still available,” he announced in a 2020 rebellion statement to the Justice Department. “Since I published an unedited diplomatic cable on Cryptome.org, no U.S. law enforcement agency notified me that the cable’s publication is illegal, consists of any means or promotes crime, and has not requested that it be deleted.”
Cryptome’s website links to hosted documents and external articles with its understated design. The young Manhattan architect also served as the website’s administrator, humbly describing himself as an “amateur” whistleblower, unlike the “bigger purpose” whistleblower. Perhaps it was this humble nature that made him unique. Young respects it when Julian Assange himself approaches Young’s active role in Wikileaks.
It is safe to assume that Young is not favored by U.S. intelligence agencies, which often criticize him for publishing highly sensitive documents, including a list of agents’ names. His groundbreaking website also faces constant scrutiny, aiming to analyze the content of its pages, by computer robots “a few times a day” attacks, which proves the ongoing threat seen by those secretly revealed secrets.
Young is a left-wing activist who graduated from Columbia University and survived the first marriage of his wife (Natsios) and three children.
