James S. Dolan (July 20, 1981 – December 27, 2017) was an American
computer security
Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...
expert who, with
Aaron Swartz
Aaron Hillel Swartz (November 8, 1986 – January 11, 2013) was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivist. A prolific programmer, Swartz helped develop the web feed format RSS, the tech ...
and
Kevin Poulsen
Kevin Lee Poulsen (born November 30, 1965) is an American former black-hat hacker and a contributing editor at ''The Daily Beast''.
Biography
He was born in Pasadena, California, on November 30, 1965.
Black-hat hacking
On June 1, 1990, Poul ...
, co-developed
SecureDrop
SecureDrop is a free software platform for secure communication between journalists and sources (whistleblowers). It was originally designed and developed by Aaron Swartz and Kevin Poulsen under the name ''DeadDrop''. James Dolan also co-create ...
, a widely used
secure
Secure may refer to:
* Security, being protected against danger or loss(es)
**Physical security, security measures that are designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, equipment, and resources
**Information security, defending information ...
digital platform for sources to anonymously submit materials to journalists.
Early life
Dolan grew up in
Chester, New York. He grew up with four sisters. He went to school at the Tuxedo Park school and was considered gifted at an early age. Later, he moved to Brooklyn, which is where he called home
and Chester, New York.
Career
From 1999 to 2006, Dolan served with the
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
in two deployments during the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
where he worked as a data network specialist.
In 2003, Dolan served with
III Marine Expeditionary Force
III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and ...
during the initial
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
. In his second deployment, which was from September 2004 to March 2005,
Dolan served with
4th Civil Affairs Group in
Fallujah, which was one of the centers of
the conflict at that time. Dolan was in Fallujah during
Operation Phantom Fury
The Second Battle of Fallujah, codenamed Operation al-Fajr ( ar, الفجر, ) and Operation Phantom Fury, was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that lasted roughly 6 weeks, starting 7th November, 2004. Marking the highest point of the ...
, part of the
Second Battle of Fallujah
The Second Battle of Fallujah, codenamed Operation al-Fajr ( ar, الفجر, ) and Operation Phantom Fury, was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that lasted roughly 6 weeks, starting 7th November, 2004. Marking the highest point of the ...
.
Trevor Timm from the
Freedom of the Press Foundation
Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 to fund and support free speech and freedom of the press. The organization originally managed crowd-funding campaigns for independent journalistic organizations, ...
referenced Dolan's military service in his description of Dolan in the obituary he wrote, saying that the impact of serving in Iraq was an often spoke of motivating factor for Dolan's cybersecurity work, with the goal of making metadata "transparent and accountable."
After his service in the Iraq War, Dolan worked in computer security at a large IT company.
In 2012, as a side project to his IT job, Dolan helped develop the
open source SecureDrop, initially known as DeadDrop.
In 2013, Poulsen and Dolan moved it to the
Freedom of the Press Foundation
Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 to fund and support free speech and freedom of the press. The organization originally managed crowd-funding campaigns for independent journalistic organizations, ...
to ensure its continued development and adoption following the death of fellow developer Aaron Swartz.
Dolan was the lead maintainer for DeadDrop, and as the Freedom of the Press Foundation's first employee, performed outreach and assisted in installations for news organizations that included ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
,'' ''
ProPublica
ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists''The Guardian'', April 13, 2010P ...
,'' ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
,'' and ''
VICE News
Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice News was create ...
,'' among others.
In 2015, Dolan moved to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
to work as head of security at
Classy, an American software company and an online fundraising platform designed for nonprofit organizations, a position he held at the time of his death.
Death
Dolan was found dead in a Brooklyn hotel in December 2017 at the age of 36.
Former colleagues speculate James died of suicide (the same as Swartz). He reportedly had developed
PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
from his time in the Marines.
Dolan was the second member of the SecureDrop team to die by suicide.
A
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...
fund was set up by his fellow Marines to establish the James Dolan Memorial Fund, which will annually donate to designated non-profit foundations and projects in his name.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, James
1981 births
2017 suicides
American computer programmers
Computer security specialists
Internet activists
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War