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Wikileaks accidentally leaks its own cache
By Kelly BourdetAugust 30th, 2011, 10:00 amComments (7)
Things have come full circle: Julian Assange's Wikileaks has apparently accidentally leaked its own cache onto the internet. Though the organization has been slowly releasing information from its approximately 250,000 leaked government cables over the past nine months, these publications had important information redacted, including the names of informants and sources. The unredacted, encrypted cache, reportedly available as a 1.73 GB file named "cables.csv," is password protected, but the password has been leaked. Assange reportedly gave the password to an "external contact" to view the files.
German newspaper Der Freitag claims to have received the password, which has possibly been published online, and have viewed the file. They claim the cables include the names of suspected informants in Iran, Jordan, Iran, and Afghanistan. So if this information, along with the password, is floating around online, it's entirely possible that the leaders of these countries will shortly be able to view the names of their informant citizens.
You would think that a man who hacks and leaks professionally would be a bit more wary of being hacked and leaked.
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Julian Assange
Commentarium (7 Comments)
Or, it didn't really happen, and is just a setup by the U.S. to discredit Wikileaks. For those who haven't been paying attention, the U.S. government has been at war with Wikileaks for at least a year. Given the criminal activity of world governments that's been detailed in the Wikileaks cables, is it any wonder that they'd be trying everything they can to stop Assange's project?
definitely plausible.
So that no one would ever again become an informant for the US? Neither likely nor plausible.
It's called being hoisted on ones own petard.
How is it a setup?
They got hacked and their confidential information shared on the net, pretty much what Wikileaks does.
Why is it quite possibly a setup? Because the U.S. government has been lying pretty consistently over the last year, claiming that Wikileaks was sending out unredacted diplomatic cables. It's awfully convenient that this "accident" follows the government's line of rhetoric about WL. Given that the bunch in office right now is every bit as corrupt as Bush clan was, foul play should always be one of the first explanations considered.
In other words, quit being so gullible.
meh +1.
There is no way in hell the US would disclose the names of once confidential informants unless it wanted to lose all its current informants and not recruit any additional informants in the future.
In other words, RD's theory is easily rejected.
To believe RD, you'd have to believe that a couple of hactivists with bad haircuts are far better at securing their data than the US Government, who's employees can actually be imprisioned for fucking up the data.
It's possible, but not that likely.