WikiLeaks Founder's Insurance Policy

[imported_Champ]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wor...rance_file_should_website_get_taken_down.html

Julian Assange apparently has a back-up plan if WikiLeaks gets taken down.

The secretive Australian who has been in hiding to avoid rape charges in Sweden, as well as any shadowy assassins who may want to rub him out, had a massive "doomsday file" posted online which may contain all of the leaked documents in unredacted form.

A file named insurance.aes256, which was posted in July, is more than a gigabyte in size and encrypted with a 256-digit key, according to Fox News.

"Julian's a smart guy and this is an interesting tactic," said Ben Laurie, a London-based computer security expert who has advised WikiLeaks. "He will hope it deters anyone from acting against him."

Assange spoke of the mystery file earlier this year, noting that it could be opened easily, if WikiLeaks revealed the password.

"All we have to do is release the password to that material, and it is instantly available," he said.

Meanwhile, his whistle-blower group continues to struggle to remain online. The site recently moved to new servers in France and obtained a domain via Switzerland (www.wikilinks.ch), and suffered another outage on Sunday when its servers went down.

The website has been repeatedly attacked by hackers since it unleashed more than 250,000 documents last week full of classified cables and secret files.

"I think [Assange] is a high-tech terrorist," said Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

"Julian Assange is engaged in warfare," argued Newt Gingrinch on Fox New, calling his actions "information terrorism, which leads to people getting killed."

The WikiLeaks founder, however, remains nowhere to be seen as his lawyers continue to deny charges out of Sweden that he raped and sexually molested two women. The 39-year-old has said he is innocent, and that the claims are all part of a ploy to discredit him.

I think its a smartest move he could make at the moment. If he dies or gets caught there could be a real firestorm.

But then this can be seen as a way around his rape case. Stay classy Assange

 

[Jiggz]

Or just a simple bluff!

 

[PrinceofWands]

I've had it since it was released. Sitting on a quiet little box in the corner enduring brute force for the last few months (and likely eleventy billion years to come).

 

[flexy]

I also thought it being remarkable how much conspiracy nonsense floats around on the web, speculating what the insurance file might contain...
While it was very clear what it is, from the beginning. When he first mentioned the file he clearly said "now its time to download this "insurance" backup". So it's simply not more (but also no less) than the already released 70.000 war files PLUS all of the 250.000 cablegate files - however (very likely) unredacted, with all names intact, which could indeed make this a "time-bomb" of some sorts. You can also take a typical cable (6k ish in size) and multiplicate it with he above nr. - which will give you *roughly* 1.7ish Gb which nicely matches about the file size of the insurance file, give or take a few.
Its beyond me how so many people believe it contains whatever idiotic conspiracy content, ranging from the truth about area-51, 9/11 etc..etc..you name it. Just makes you realize how many idiots are out there.

Indeed, i think the release of the insurance file would be VERY damaging - this also leads me to believe that "agencies" know this and would not bother with silly attempts to shut the site(s) down...rather using other means and ways, like discrediting/disinformation etc. since this would be the only way of damage control which would make sense. (If that's still possible, that is).

 

[cubby1223]

Is this going to be like the mystery envelope in the O.J. Simpson case?

So basically Assange's "insurance" is blackmail? He's not a journalist, and he's not hero. He's a douchebag.

 

[Sinsear]

So basically Assange's "insurance" is blackmail? He's not a journalist, and he's not hero. He's a douchebag.

Inclined to agree.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Is this going to be like the mystery envelope in the O.J. Simpson case?

So basically Assange's "insurance" is blackmail? He's not a journalist, and he's not hero. He's a douchebag.

If the story in the OP is true, I am inclined to agree and I will retract whatever I said about him that might be remotely construed as defending him.

 

[Nebor]

So does someone other than him have the password? Because this guy is heading for an accident.

 

[flexy]

Well of course its true - if you're halfway familiar with that whole WL thing you should know about the insurance file.

 

[flexy]

So does someone other than him have the password? Because this guy is heading for an accident.

Likely. Its also thinkable he might have some automatic system in place which "auto publishes" the key once something happens. Speculation, but possible.

 

[cubby1223]

But here's the thing...

There are two scenarios:

either (A) WikiLeaks continues operations, and as part of their operations they will release whatever they have

or (B) WikiLeaks is shut down, Assange is arrested & placed in FPMITAP, where he distributes the key to decrypt whatever they have

I fail to see the downside to option B.

 

[flexy]

The downside is you would need months to go to 260.000 cables

But in all seriousness...even as someone who basically support(ed) the idea of WL, now slowly changing my mind, i don't see anything "good" coming from this in the long run.

Today's release of that list of targets clearly showed that...there is no agenda or "noble" motive behind it..it's simply anarchy, HARDLY the "cure it all" of our current problems.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Is this going to be like the mystery envelope in the O.J. Simpson case?

So basically Assange's "insurance" is blackmail? He's not a journalist, and he's not hero. He's a douchebag.

Blackmail? He's blackmailing them to not "rub him out", understandable.

Personally I don't give a fuck. He's not a hero but I don't really see the downside to what he is doing.

 

[Zebo]

I told the fools who wanted to kill him this weeks ago. martyr and insurance file = stupid.

The way you destroy wikileaks is not by killing, but by discrediting. Rape is a good start. News orgs questioning his motives is another. By the time Psi-ops is done he could tell you where Jimmy Hoffa was buried and none would pay attention. Then you kill him.

 

[flexy]

He is NOT necessarily adding to a good reputation about himself either - notice how he "elegantly" avoids to answer good questions, as happened on Friday in the QA on guardian.co.uk where he pretty much gave an "asshole answer" to someone who asked a very legit question.

Also..that there is a PERSONAL manhunt going on is his fault alone...although hard to believe that he didn't predict this. He chose to put his face and name on Wikileaks...basically making the whole thing a "one-man" operation. Given the magnitude and caliber of the information, as well as the enemies...a very stupid move.

 

[Zebo]

Well yeah his personality is exploitable. You work with tools you have.

He should have kept on the down low. But that presents problems too. Like dead and hijacking site. He had to put a face to site IMO for his safety.

 

[between]

..

 

[flexy]

America was taken to war on a pack of lies.

Imagine a world where politicians couldn't get away with that.

I really hope that is where we are heading with wikileaks.

wikileaks is just the beginning, and as the technology improves for creating censorship resistant web sites, we will see more and more whistleblower/ leak sites springing up, and ever more explosive material leaked.

Go, go in a random bookstore and get some books about area-51 or UFOs. You get a whole ***load of alleged TS documents which would satisfy any conspiracy theorist for the next years to come.

What i am saying: The more whistle blower sites and the more material we are getting from diverse sources..the less credible it will become. At the end it will be a huge mess of information, some legit, much more not...and no one will take it serious anymore.

 

[P4man]

What with this obsession with Assange? What he does is essentially no different than what the NYT and other newspapers are doing. If you are so concerned about these leaks, focus your hate on the ones who leaked it in the first place, advocate putting Manning on the electric chair.