"irresistible high-low raw material for an online news cycle"

January 27, 2014 9:43 AM

From a small town in Romania, Guccifer skewered and glorified the power elite.

If Snowden perfectly fit the profile of geek crusader, Lehel, a stone-faced, disheveled man in a tight leather jacket, seemed an odd candidate for one of the world’s most notorious hackers. But Guccifer is to hacking what the Beatles are to rock and roll. He had predecessors, 4Chan cowboys like Anonymous and Sabu of LulzSec, but he’s changed the nature of hacking fame. Guccifer rose by exploiting the connections people make online to infiltrate the private lives of some of the most powerful people on Earth. He served up the results to the media, irresistible high-low raw material for an online news cycle driven by leaks and voyeurism and racked by anxiety over privacy.

What Is A Guccifer?

NYMag: Elite-Targeting Hacker Guccifer Allegedly Arrested After Hall-of-Fame Run, including George W. Bush(previously), Colin Powell, Candace Bushnell, and others.
Guccifer Files Further Detail Hacking Spree
Google Drive archives linked at reddit, full PDF backups at Cryptome

"guccifer" searched at Drudge Report, The Smoking Gun

posted by the man of twists and turns (12 comments total)

From TSG:

In a note apparently explaining (as it were) why the former Washington Post reporter [Carl Bernstein] was targeted, “Guccifer” wrote, “he is around these days. he is jew. But he fights the illuminati!” In prior correspondence to TSG, “Guccifer” has cited dark conspiracies involving the Illuminati, Rockefellers, bankers, and Bohemian Grove attendees.

Yeah, he's a regular Robin Hood.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:17 AM on January 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

Bohemia Grove, Circa 1926/7.

This guy sounds interesting. Wonder who he really works for.
posted by marienbad at 11:34 AM on January 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

Is "Guccifer" pronounced "goochi-fer" or "juice-i-fer"? 'Cause I know what a Jucifer is, it's an awesomely loud metal band! \m/ !!!
posted by octobersurprise at 11:34 AM on January 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

It's "Goose-ih-fer."
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:35 AM on January 27, 2014

This guy sounds like a dick and comparing him to Snowden is polluting the discourse.
posted by Dmenet at 11:38 AM on January 27, 2014 [8 favorites]

AOL must be such a rich source of technically illiterate targets.
posted by benzenedream at 11:54 AM on January 27, 2014 [3 favorites]

Huh, I thought this would be a Guccifer.
posted by maryr at 12:18 PM on January 27, 2014

He reminds me of Lamo (note that his name is often mispronounced, the proper pronunciation is Lame-Oh): attention seeking media-whore with the ethics of something not very ethical.

I mean for gods sakes, in Guccifers 'hack the planet' rampage he managed to inadvertently humanize GWB.

marienbad: not all bad actors are part of an ensemble.
posted by el io at 5:02 PM on January 27, 2014

"What Is A Guccifer?"

$20, same as in town.
posted by klangklangston at 6:11 PM on January 27, 2014

I mean for gods sakes, in Guccifers 'hack the planet' rampage he managed to inadvertently humanize GWB.

Oh no, not humanizing a literal person!
posted by Apocryphon at 8:02 PM on January 27, 2014

Am I understanding correctly that Guccifer believes in crackpot conspiracy theories and reveals uninteresting personal details about famous people, right? Why should I care?

There are actual conspiracies that seriously need disruption, but sorry they're actually rather banal, not ancient secret societies. And the notes form Bush's daily meetings with lobbyists actually matters, another photo of him looking ridiculous, not so much.
posted by jeffburdges at 4:55 PM on January 29, 2014

George W. Bush’s Library Is Hosting His First On-Purpose Art Show
posted by homunculus at 12:29 PM on February 25, 2014