The developers of the non-profit open source Android operating system GrapheneOS have announced the mobilization of one of the project’s two Senior Developers «to participate in the war.» The post does not specify where exactly this happened, but claims that it was a «forced conscription in an existential defensive war».
The developers of the non-profit open source Android operating system GrapheneOS have announced the mobilization of one of the project’s two Senior Developers «to participate in the war.» The post does not specify where exactly this happened, but claims that it was a «forced conscription in an existential defensive war».
«One of our two senior developers was forcibly detained and mobilized to participate in the war. When they first disappeared, we revoked their access to the repository out of precaution. We soon learned that their disappearance was in no way related to GrapheneOS», — the project reported on its social networks.
GrapheneOS is an open-source Android operating system focused on privacy and security that runs on some Google Pixel smartphones and tablets.
GrapheneOS said it had used all of its «available connections» to try to «secure» its developer. The original post uses the plural pronoun «they» to refer to him, as the project uses such language to maintain confidentiality.
«There is no way to exempt him from the draft. However, he is an incredibly talented security researcher and engineer, and it would be extremely wrong to send him to the front. It seems that this is now understood», — the OS developers noted.
GrapheneOS deliberately did not specify which armed forces their developer was mobilized to.
«We felt obligated to speak out publicly, but waited a few weeks to make sure he was safe and that our publication would not harm him. We avoided naming a country or war so as not to drag GrapheneOS into the debate about forced conscription in an existential defensive war», — the project said.
Currently, only Ukraine is actually waging a defensive war for survival and preservation of statehood, which is mobilizing conscripts. GrapheneOS directly denied that their developer was mobilized in Israel, and clarified that he is not Russian. In addition, as is known, the Russian army is waging a war of aggression, not a defensive one, and is occupying the territories of other countries.
In the comments to GrapheneOS’s post on Twitter, Canadian Peter Todd, who was named in the HBO film as the semi-mythical creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, also asked which country the developer was recruited from. He also got into an argument with a user who was spreading Russian propaganda.
«If I ever didn’t pay my taxes, I would be arrested; conscription is just a wartime version of taxation, and Ukraine is waging a just defensive war against extermination. It’s important that this is not a Russian developer, because that would be extremely concerning for the security of Graphene», — wrote the Bitcoin core developer, who is known for his support for Ukraine.
The GrapheneOS team assured that development and updates to their operating system «are ongoing and will continue,» and they have «significant funds» to hire more people. However, the project noted that the loss of one of its two key developers will slow down the development of GrapheneOS.
«We will need to hire several experienced developers to take his place. Hopefully, he will be safe, and when he returns, we will have a larger team», — GrapheneOS said, calling for resumes.
The project clarified that a total of 11 paid developers are working on GrapheneOS, but not all of them work full-time.
