No VPN?
Should have used a VPN. That kind of juicyness gets peoples attention.
A Silicon Valley investor accused of sexual harassment by an anonymous blogger has sued the mysterious scribe for defamation – only to find the writer appeared to be a business rival in disguise. Anis Uzzaman, CEO of Fenox Venture Capital, was outraged when a post appeared on popular Japanese blogging site Hatena in March …
There's been a couple of articles about Uber in the Japan Times recently. The first suggested that Uber were trying to persuade SoftBank to buy a slice of the company. The second was that SoftBank had instead put money into a popular East Asian rival of Uber's. Seems SoftBank weren't tempted in the least...
It sounds like the IP address was Brandon Hill's home address rather than a company one so I would guess they'll sue Brandon Hill rather than his company. Sue the directors? I don't think so, unless it's part of a "sue anyone and anything who might be involved" blanket bombing, in which case Comcast and the Akond of Swat might also be defendants. Also I don't think there is such a thing as "the legal liability". You can sue whoever you want. "I think you should have sued someone else instead" isn't a defence.
Thought experiment. El Reg publishes a story about an unnamed sex pest whose description happens to match yours or mine.
Do we instantly identify with the subject? Do we assume people we know will identify us in the story? Not commentards (I've no idea what you look like in person), but someone who both reads the e-rag and knows us.
And then, what lengths do we go to to draw the world's attention to the story and our alleged role in it? Not just ignore it and move on. Nor (being a regular commentard) join the commentariat from the peanut gallery. But wade right in with the Power of Denial.
"It wasn't me, guv."
"Good Lord! Yes, you do rather match the description. Fancy that.""
... and then go to extraordinary lengths to draw the world's attention to the story and yourself. Homing in on one specific attribute of the post: the IP address - as opposed to, say, the commentard's user details.
And that's positing the story in a widely-read publication in English. Not a blog in Japanese: surely already a specialist niche in a Silicon Valley readership!
One might almost suppose he had discovered how easy it is to spoof an IP address. How many Commentards have never framed your mate over some trivial prank? How many of us have never been victim of a joe-job?
This post has been deleted by its author
to keep their traps shut?
How many posts on Social Media (it really is more like a Sado Masochists hangout at times) come back to bite you in the ass, balls and wallet?
There is a reason that I don't have anything to do with SM (either sort honest guv). This sort of thing shows why perfectly.
Anything posted on SM about me or purporting to be by me is obviously FAKE NEWS but hey carry on, I won't see it anyway so why bovver eh?
"Regarding the allegation, we consider it a false allegation for the following reasons. Though it could be through the IP which I own, I am not the person who wrote or published the article.
I have no reasons to damage [Fenox's] business. Earlier this month, we have notified Fenox that there is a possibility that my IP was used to publish the article by someone as there are over 50 people who know the SSID and password of the Wi-Fi.
Currently we are communicating with Fenox via our attorneys."
It may or may not have been you but you own the IP so it's your responsbility.
Seems to me that there are only two ways.
The first is if the target reader of the post actually approached Uzzaman and said "hey, this kinda sounds like you. did you do this?" at which point he would rightfully go ballistic.
The second is that Uzzaman planted it himself.