OK so I started a thread about wikileaks and the main subject of discussion in that thread is regarding if it's right or wrong to leak the cables.
What I'd like to disucss here is how/if Wikileaks has changed the world forever. If you want to keep discussing the moral argument, use the other thread.
I want to talk about the technology and history.
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We are living in very interesting times, I think that the Wikileaks saga is very historic and is forcing agencies around the world to rethink the information they hold, the protection of the data and who can access it.
At no other time has a group of individuals held the US Government to ransom for their secrets.
The Insurance File.
This is wikileaks master plan, and it seems to be working so far.
Wikileaks released a file around 1.9 GB in size which is rumoured to contain all of the data they obtained. It's encrypted with AES256 and at the moment the key to unlock it and view the content isn't known.
Over the past few weeks I keep blowing my mind thinking about how simple and powerful this action by wikileaks has been.
Wikileaks has given the entire world some of the most sensitive and classified information ever, and yet at the moment - it cannot be read. A huge number of text documents will be in the 1.9GB insurance file, decades of information. All of which can be downloaded in 5-10 mins and be redistributed throughout the world onto millions of hard drives, to millions of people.
If Wikileaks is really pushed to it's limits and thinks it might lose this "war", all it needs to do is give out the password.
This could almost be classed as an act of digital ransom, digital rackatering, or perhaps some other phrase needs to be invented to properly describe their actions.
A simple low bandwidth string like "THEW1K1L3AKZPASSW0RD" could be enough to allow millions of people around the world to unlock the secrets of the worlds most powerful nation. This password, for example, could be tweeted, retweeted, /msg'ed, email spammed, posted on blogs, forums, IM.. an endless array of communications methods.
And BOOM! the secrets are out there.
I don't think this has ever been done before, this is history in the making - almost in real time. Can you imagine having that password, typing it into your twitter message box.. and hovering over the post button... knowing that a simple action will change everything and open up pandoras box forever.
It fucking blows my mind!! A few bytes can now change the world. And I don't think thats an exageration.
It could either cause huge amounts of death around the world, or it could cause government figures to resign enmass.
Whatever your viewpoint on it - this is what's going on right now, and the reality is somewhere inbetween the 2 extreme consequences I outlined above.
What I'd like to disucss here is how/if Wikileaks has changed the world forever. If you want to keep discussing the moral argument, use the other thread.
I want to talk about the technology and history.
-----------------------------------------------------
We are living in very interesting times, I think that the Wikileaks saga is very historic and is forcing agencies around the world to rethink the information they hold, the protection of the data and who can access it.
At no other time has a group of individuals held the US Government to ransom for their secrets.
The Insurance File.
This is wikileaks master plan, and it seems to be working so far.
Wikileaks released a file around 1.9 GB in size which is rumoured to contain all of the data they obtained. It's encrypted with AES256 and at the moment the key to unlock it and view the content isn't known.
Over the past few weeks I keep blowing my mind thinking about how simple and powerful this action by wikileaks has been.
Wikileaks has given the entire world some of the most sensitive and classified information ever, and yet at the moment - it cannot be read. A huge number of text documents will be in the 1.9GB insurance file, decades of information. All of which can be downloaded in 5-10 mins and be redistributed throughout the world onto millions of hard drives, to millions of people.
If Wikileaks is really pushed to it's limits and thinks it might lose this "war", all it needs to do is give out the password.
This could almost be classed as an act of digital ransom, digital rackatering, or perhaps some other phrase needs to be invented to properly describe their actions.
A simple low bandwidth string like "THEW1K1L3AKZPASSW0RD" could be enough to allow millions of people around the world to unlock the secrets of the worlds most powerful nation. This password, for example, could be tweeted, retweeted, /msg'ed, email spammed, posted on blogs, forums, IM.. an endless array of communications methods.
And BOOM! the secrets are out there.
I don't think this has ever been done before, this is history in the making - almost in real time. Can you imagine having that password, typing it into your twitter message box.. and hovering over the post button... knowing that a simple action will change everything and open up pandoras box forever.
It fucking blows my mind!! A few bytes can now change the world. And I don't think thats an exageration.
It could either cause huge amounts of death around the world, or it could cause government figures to resign enmass.
Whatever your viewpoint on it - this is what's going on right now, and the reality is somewhere inbetween the 2 extreme consequences I outlined above.
