WikiLeaks

“The simplest and most effective countermeasure is a worldwide community of informed users and editors who can scrutinise and discuss leaked documents.”                 -WikiLeaks

Covert spies are glamorized by Hollywood when they produce landmark classics such as James Bond, Mission Impossible, and The Bourne Identity.  Highly rated and extremely successful, these movies entertain millions but when the end credits begin to roll many people question whether this clandestine activity is actually possible.  On October 4, 2006, the world met its first true spy that would show that it was far more powerful than any fictitious super spy ever seen on the movie screen.

WikiLeaks logo

Background History

Establishing a domain name in October 4, 2006, the website demonstrated its power when posting their first document in December 2006.   Micah L. Sifry, author and Goggle Scholar publisher, explains that WikiLeaks was built on the foundation that its publications are meant to bring important news to the public with an emphasis on a search for truth in every story.  Julian Assange has proudly claimed the title as the founder, philosopher, spokesman, organizer, and financier, which, in turn, has placed him in the crosshairs of many powerful individuals across the world.  Beyond Assange, WikiLeaks consists of five full-time employees and about 800 part-time workers who are proudly working without pay.

Bahnhof's computer hosting nuclear bunker office space

Having a website platform that releases confidential documents requires a very particular hosting service.  PQR, otherwise known as PeRiQuito AB, answered the call by providing WikiLeaks a hosting service that is a ” highly secure, no-questions-asked hosting service”.  With a business structure such as this, PQR has little to none information from WikiLeaks.  Governments around the world struggle in their investigations against WikiLeaks due to PQR’s lack of customer information.  After becoming a target of a denial of service attack, WikiLeaks began using Amazon’s servers, but was quickly rejected for not complying with the Terms Agreement put forth by Amazon.  To this date, Bahnhof, a Swedish internet hosting provider, is WikiLeaks hosting service.  Bahnhof, using military grade encryption to protect its customers websites, is located in a former nuclear bunker.  It’s funny how a new renovation and a few new pieces of furniture can change the feel of your surroundings.   The Swedish Pirate Party, as of August 10, 2010, had made an agreement to help manage, fund, and host some of the WikiLeaks servers.

Prominent Leaks

Julian Assange--founder of WikiLeaks

Between 2006 and 2008, WikiLeaks was able to get its hands on and publish sensitive information about the U.S. Army’s protocol when dealing with prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Sarah Palin’s Yahoo email account, and Hassan Dahir Aweys’s  (Somalian political figure) plan to assassinate government officials.  In 2009 alone WikiLeaks revealed two incidents of reckless environmental destruction.  The companies involved were found guilty for  forcing the media to pull the stories from the news outlets.  2010 proved to be a horrific year for the Department of Defense due to a massive leak of documents regarding the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Over 500,000 documents were spilled over the web leading the U.S. government to claim that this catastrophe was “the largest leak in U.S. history”.  This year was the first time a classified document was hacked and leaked to the public.  With only half of 2011 completed, WikiLeaks has already managed to release reports from Guantanamo prison, opened the Spy Files, and posted emails from a security intelligence company called Stratfor.

Government Rage

For obvious reasons, the publication of all of these secrets has raised blood pressures in leaders all over the world.  Australia had placed WikiLeaks on it’s internet blacklist for several months, but eventually the company was removed from the list.  The People’s Republic of China has been accused of blocking the accessibility of any URL with “wikileaks” in it.  In Germany and Iceland WikiLeak volunteers reported  and uncomfortable amount of surveillance that was being carried out by international covert agents and police. Several accounts of jail time and computer confiscations were reported.  In the United States of America, the U.S. Army, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice have made suggestions that they plan to prosecute WikiLeaks “on grounds that they are promoting the theft of government property”.  More on the prosecution of WikiLeaks will be covered by news sources when it becomes available.

This post only skims the surface of an extremely complex and controversial organization.  Watch further information in the YouTube video below and share your personal opinion on the organization in the comment section below.