Prominent security expert Dan Kaminsky passes away at 42

Security expert Dan Kaminsky has passed away at the age of 42. 

The news was made public over the weekend. In a statement issued by Kaminsky's niece, Sarah, it was said that the prominent security researcher died due to diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious diabetic complication. 

Kaminsky's passing was not related to COVID-19 or vaccination efforts. On April 12, the researcher tweeted that he had received his vaccination, and on news of his death, some individuals on Twitter speculated there was a link. 

To directly dismiss these claims, the family said that "while his passing was sudden and unexpected for us, Dan struggled for years with diabetes and was even recently hospitalized because of it." 

"I think Dan would laugh at the idea of conspiracy theorists promoting anti-vax propaganda through his death, but as his family, it hurts us to see his death being used to spread lies about a vaccine that he had full faith in," the statement reads. 

In 2008, Kaminsky revealed a fundamental flaw in the Domain Name System (DNS) at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, leading to a multi-vendor, coordinated patch release. 

While well-known for his work on DNS, Kaminsky has worked in the cybersecurity field for decades and also acted as an advisor for a number of Fortune 500 companies.  

The infosec community has responded on social media, describing him as generous, kind, and both a "hero" and a "force of nature" in the cybersecurity field. 

A video of Kaminsky and Sarah explaining DNS -- "Sarah on DNS" -- has been uploaded to Twitter. 

"My family and I appreciate your kind words, stories and memories of Dan," Sarah said in a tweet dated April 25. "It has been remarkable to see the number of people he has impacted. He was such a light in this world."

The family has asked for privacy at this time. 

Previous and related coverage

Have a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499, or over at Keybase: charlie0