maia arson crimew (formerly known as Tillie Kottman) is a renowned hacker and computer expert, as well as an outspoken anarchist, communist, LGBT rights activist, and anti-capitalist figure. crimew is trans and non-binary, and has expressed comfort with she/her, they/them, it/its, and fae/faer pronouns. (I am not currently aware of any particular preference for one of these over the others; this mega may use them interchangeably.)

Fae first came to prominence in faer early teens as an Android developer and contributor within that community. Fae was the founding developer of a popular Android launcher called "Lawnchair".

She became an excellent hacker, and gained fame for hacks of Intel, Nintendo, Nissan and others. She made headlines around the world in 2021 with her hack of security systems company Verkada. As part of this hack, she gained access to live security video feeds from "secure" locations around the world, including prisons, Tesla factories, residential homes, and more. These feeds exposed deplorable conditions within such locations, lies by associated companies, and served as a testament to the degree of surveillance that exists all around us in modern society.

Fae was "coincidentally" charged and indicted days later by the US federal government on "unrelated charges". Faer home (in her native Switzerland) was raided by Swiss police at the request of the United States. Faer status was uncertain for some time, but fae now appears to be safe indefinitely as the Swiss government is not currently believed to be pursuing any additional actions beyond the previous seizure of faer electronic equipment and website, and Switzerland maintains a non-extradition policy for its citizens. However, it is unlikely that fae will ever be able to leave the country again, lest fae risk arrest. It is also not guaranteed that the Swiss government will not charge faer in the future or for future activities--though it is seen as unlikely because most of faer actions are theoretically legal in Switzerland.

crimew is seen by many as an "ethical hacker", targeting only large corporations and not profiting or benefitting personally from her activities. As an outspoken anti-capitalist, she has described her motivation for her online activities as ranging from exposing bad security practices stemming from corporate greed, to a philosophical opposition to intellectual property, to concerns that capitalism destroys creativity, and so on.

I will close this bio with the following tweet from their (suspended) twitter account:

"wanna be a great trans ally? punch your transphobic coworker in the face on our behalf.
maia arson crimew. @cybertillie."

[Editors note: It is the official position of Hexbear.net that while punching transphobes in the face may be a great way to show support for trans comrades, it's also funny.]

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