The renowned former NSA agent and CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden has again made public statements, this time to warn that Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, could be the “next John McAfee“, after the creator of the popular antivirus was found dead in his cell in a Spanish prison in an apparent suicide.
“Europe should not allow the extradition to the US of those accused of non-violent crimes… Assange could be next,” he posted on his Twitter account. It should be recalled that Snowden is currently residing in Russia as an exile.
The founder of McAfee died just a few hours ago in Barcelona, shortly after his extradition to the United States, where he was accused of tax fraud, was approved. McAfee spent years claiming that the American government harassed him and even wanted him dead.
On the other hand, Assange is being held in one of the United Kingdom’s strictest prisons and, despite being able to enjoy bail, British authorities consider him dangerous and prone to escape. Assange faces a total of 18 U.S. charges, including charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and disclosure of confidential information.
Snowden’s message is unclear, as his tweet only concludes by mentioning that those individuals whom the U.S. government seeks to extradite “would rather be dead than face American justice.”
Two different interpretations have emerged from this message: for some the tweet only suggests that McAfee simply could not accept the idea of being prosecuted in the U.S., while others believe that Snowden is tacitly claiming that the businessman did not committed suicide, but was killed by the U.S. government in complicity with Spanish authorities.
This would Julian Assange could be killed or commit suicide after John McAfee’s death, warns Edward Snowdennot be the first time that public opinion has accused the U.S. government of such a crime. In August 2019, millionaire Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell after being found guilty of multiple sex crimes against minors. While the official version is that the tycoon committed suicide, many still believe that the government murdered him to prevent him from tell on other powerful individuals in cases of pedophilia.
In the most recent hours, these hypotheses appeared again, supported by a series of tweets published by McAfee in which he claimed to feel good and confident that everything would work out for him. Although an investigation into the case will be conducted, it is unlikely that suicide will no longer be the official version.
To learn more about information security risks, malware variants, vulnerabilities and information technologies, feel free to access the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) websites.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
