Brenno de Winter

Who is Brenno de Winter?

Brenno de Winter is a Dutch ICT and investigative journalist. He writes for Linux Magazine, Computer!Totaal, NU.nl and Webwereld and is a commenter for the PowNews programme on PowNed TV. Brenno is also a podcaster and hosts "Laura Speaks Dutch". He caused controversy with by submitting requests for information on the basis of the Open Government Act to include Jeltje de Nieuwenhoven and hundreds WOB requests to all Dutch municipalities and provinces. Because not all agencies fulfilled the WOB requests, de Winter filed lawsuits against them. The Dutch Association of Journalists supported de Winter. In the decision of the Hague court on 4 May 2010, de Winter's favor, which is not confirmed that municipalities may levy fees for the appeal to the WOB. In April 2010, de Winter was involved in the disclosure of the expenditure of the FENS funds by the NS. After the publications and media appearances of de Winter related to the ease and simplicity of the OV-chipcard, the Netherlands public transport usage cards, the Minister of Infrastructure and Environment was able to get the NVB in Haaglanden about a one month postponement. Due to the disclosure the District Attorney decided to open a criminal investigation against de Winter; however, after a legal defense fund met its goals within an hour. The Journalist magazine Villamedia has named Brenno de Winter as the journalist of the year 2011. In July, 2012 de Winter broke a new story about Dutch employer censorship after an employee of Unisys Netherlands was threatened with termination for giving a presentation about online censorship for the conference Last H.O.P.E., New York, USA In September, 2012 de Winter released a video and accompanying news story of how he was able to use an obvious fake identification to gain access to numerous Netherlands and European government offices: The European Parliament, four Dutch Ministries among which the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior, The Dutch Secret Service, The Dutch Telecom Regulator OPTA, The Dutch National Cyber Security Center, The Royal Palace, The Dutch National Police, The Police Department of The Hague and Brabant Zuid-Oost. De Winter purchased the obvious fake ID at the 28C3 Chaos Computer Club Congress in 2011 where he was the conference closing speaker.