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Comment by zoba | Hacker News Reader

In case my server goes, here is the text:

Right now in ##mtgox-chat someone named nanashi____ claims to be speaking for a group of hackers who have gotten into Mt Gox in an attempt to figure out what happened. Nanashi says they have a DB dump and are looking at what to do with it. Nanashi gave these links:

A conversation in Japanese with Karpeles and a Banker (http://picosong.com/Y7di/) Some Mt Gox Code (http://pastebin.com/W8B3CGiN)

Nanashi also posted personal information on those employed by Mt Gox including phone numbers and addresses. Nanashi says the group plans on releasing more info. Nanashi also said they group plans on not releasing the huge store of passport scans they found… Hopefully this group has the public’s best interests at heart.

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They have passport scans?

I'm impressed by how hard MtGox is fucking up.

Also, we now see that the Wild West metaphor for Bitcoin banking carries quite far. If you fuck up in the wilderness, you'll not only be sorry, but you'll also be ripped apart by the wolves!

Maybe this can serve as a warning that the tedious processes used by banks and other institutions handling "serious" money can't just be disrupted away.

This is why I have had to stop using a number of services which requested a photocopy of official government documentation. I am specifically thinking of how I had to dump my Dwolla account.

Don't worry. Your documents will be there forever.

I am sure it said that they will 'dispose' of the scans after 2 weeks. Looks like they fucked up again!

On the interwebs 'temporary' is forever.

Yeah, that is really something. To think that people actually supplied that info. Wow.

I didn't, I signed up to an account and stopped at this point because unlike a financial institution they are not governed by laws that require this or would ensure the security of such data.

But I totally understand why people did supply it.

They supplied it because:

1) They've been trained to

2) For a while MtGox was actually the most well-known (and therefore trusted) of the exchanges

On #1, every financial institution in the world goes through some form of KYC (Know Your Customer) anti-laundering process that involves identity verification. And people are so used to doing this when signing up to financial accounts that they failed to comprehend that MtGox (and other exchanges) is not a financial institution being regulated by the same safeguards for their data.

On #2, even if you accepted that they were not a financial institution almost all of the bitcoin exchanges are asking for verification. And the larger more well-known exchanges are viewed as "least risky". It's a herd-like mentality, if these thousands of others did it, it must be safe.

I never supplied the info, to this or other exchanges, but I totally see why excited people who feared missing out as the price rose were willing to do so.

I signed up before they had ID verification about two years ago, and deposited a little money. Then a few months later I'd had my fun and I wanted to take my money back, but discovered they wouldn't let me withdraw unless I provided ID.

After some back and forth with them I somehat angrily provided ID and got my money returned. It later turned out that they had either been dishonest or incompetent in their argument for providing ID, and I got them to promise me that they had deleted any and all ID docs I sent them, specifically because of scenarios like this one.

Well, I hope they were telling the truth.

That is a rather charitable way of looking at this situation. Which is to be commended, I wish I was still capable of thinking that way.

Money laundering legislation in Japan may well apply to them.

In case anyone's wondering, "nanashi" means "anonymous" in Japanese.

it could also refer to the number 74, so maybe mr or ms anonymous is ~40yo right now ?

Nope, it's 名無し nanashi, the standard way of saying "Mr/Ms Anonymous" on Japanese forums like 2ch.

Thanks, zoba.

Here is the link you added to the IRC transcript:

http://pastebin.com/N7B5DC4d

"Nanashi" (japanese: Anonymous) claims to be in Serbia, but posting on behalf of a Russian group.

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