Dancho Danchev missing in Bulgaria

January 17, 2011 12:10 PM

High profile cybercrime researcher and blogger Dancho Danchev has been missing since September. Many in the security community fear for his safety, and a recent report (google translate) has placed him in a psychiatric hospital since December 11th. (via)
posted by kaytwo (6 comments total)

Well, we all need to be on the lookout to fight the scourge of mental illness. Try the mirror first.
posted by eegphalanges at 1:22 PM on January 17, 2011

I was intrigued when I followed this from slashdot yesterday. I even downloaded the full size images and looked into the wiring and the device he sent zdnet pics of. The pics are of a halogen dimmer switch and some shoddy but unremarkable wiring.

I hope Mr. Danchev makes a full recovery, though some mental illnesses are things you have to manage for the rest of your life. The good news is that he hasn't just disappeared.
posted by Xoebe at 3:09 PM on January 17, 2011

I can tell I came of age before the Cold War ended, because when I hear a Bulgarian who might be inconvenient to the government was placed in a psychiatric hospital, my gut reaction is not that he's mentally ill.

(The wiring thing does sound a bit strange, but still.)
posted by immlass at 3:25 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

God, which do you hope more? That he had a schizophrenic break and needed to be institutionalized? Or that the Bulgarian government or organized crime (or both) had him committed under a false claim of mental illness?
posted by Nelson at 3:25 PM on January 17, 2011

I suppose xtreme paranoia *is* one of the dangers of -enjoying- repeatedly ratting out illicit and dangerous groups of Eastern European cybercriminals. Cuz, we all know, what goes around comes around.
posted by Twang at 5:25 PM on January 17, 2011

Old (but good) news: Dancho Danchev has been back since January 21, 2011.
posted by millions of peaches at 12:17 PM on January 26, 2011