This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Meco (talk | contribs) at 19:46, 28 November 2010 (Data security explained). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 19:46, 28 November 2010 by Meco (talk | contribs) (Data security explained)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (November 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The US diplomatic cables release is the unsanctioned disclosure by Wikileaks of over 250,000 classified documents detailing correspondence between U.S. embassies around the world.
Pre-release announcement and reactions
On 22 November an announcement was made by the WikiLeaks twitter feed that the next release would be "7x the size of the Iraq War Logs." US authorities and the media have speculated that they may contain diplomatic cables. Prior to the expected leak, the government of the United Kingdom (UK) sent a DA-Notice to UK newspapers, which requests advance notice from the newspapers regarding the expected publication. According to Index on Censorship, "there is no obligation on media to comply". "Newspaper editors would speak to Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee prior to publication." The Pakistani newspaper Dawn stated that the US newspapers The New York Times and The Washington Post were expected to publish parts of the diplomatic cables on Sunday 28 November, including 94 Pakistan-related documents.
On 26 November, via his lawyer Jennifer Robinson, Assange sent a letter to the US Department of State, asking for information regarding people who could be placed at "significant risk of harm" by the diplomatic cables release. Harold Koh, Legal Adviser of the Department of State, refused the proposal, stating, "We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained U.S. Government classified materials."
28 November release
Denial-of-Service attack on WikiLeaks' servers
About an hour prior to the release of the documents on 28 November, Wikileaks announced it was undergoing a massive Distributed Denial-of-service attack attack, but vowed to still leak the cables and documents via prominent media outlets including El País, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, The Guardian, and The New York Times.
Release through five newspapers
The Guardian released its coverage of the leaked cables in numerous articles, including an interactive flash database, on November 28th. Der Spiegel also released its preliminary report, with extended coverage promised on November 29th. Its cover for November 29th was also leaked. El País released its report on November 28th as well.
Contents
- Special intelligence campaigns were run to spy on the leadership of the United Nations including secretary general, Ban Ki-moon and the permanent security council representatives from China, Russia, France and the UK.
- Israel was ready to attack a nuclear-armed Iran.
- Grave fears in Washington and London over the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme
- Alleged links between the Russian government and organised crime.
- Devastating criticism of the UK's military operations in Afghanistan.
- Claims of inappropriate behaviour by a member of the British Royal Family.
- Analyses of numerous leaders, including comparing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler.
Data security explained
According to the Guardian all of the diplomatic cables are marked "Sipdis" which denotes secret internet protocol distribution via the closed US SIPRNet, Department of Defense’s classified version of the civilian Internet. More than 3 million US government personnel and soldiers have access to this network. Bradleu Manning, the intelligence analyst charged with leaking the video of the US military airstrike on civilians in Baghdad in July 2007 to WikiLeaks has also been charged with leaking many of the diplomatic wires. An explanation of why such sensitive material, in such large quantities, are made available to such a wide audience through the SIPRNet, a US State Department spokesman told The Guardian that following 9/11 an increased focus had been placed on sharing information since that event had exposed gaps in intra-governmental information sharing. Specifically the diplomatic, military, law enforcement and intelligence communities would be able to do their jobs better with this easy access to analytic and operative information. The spokesperson also said that in recent weeks and months measures had been taken to impprove the security of the system and prevent leaks.
References
- http://twitter.com/#!/wikileaks/status/6564225640042499
- Andrea Petrou. "WikiLeaks promises leak "seven times bigger than Iraq"".
- http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n235797
- ^ Butselaar, Emily (26 November 2010). "Wikileaks: UK issues DA-Notice as US briefs allies on fresh leak". Index on Censorship. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - "WikiLeaks plans to release 94 papers about Pakistan". Dawn. 27 November 2010. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - "US rejects talks with WikiLeaks". Sydney Morning Herald/AFP. 2010-11-28. Archived from the original on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Koh, Harold Hongju (2010-11-27). "Dear Ms. Robinson and Mr. Assange". The Washington Post. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - "Wikileaks 'hacked ahead of secret US document release'". BBC News. November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- http://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/8924979961798657
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cables-wikileaks
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,731580,00.html
- http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gawker/2010/11/spiegelgoodbig.jpg
- http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/mayor/filtracion/historia/deja/descubierto/secretos/politica/exterior/EE/UU/elpepuint/20101128elpepuint_25/Tes
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cables-spying-un
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/28/israel-primed-attack-nuclear-iran
- ^ Leigh, David (November 28, 2010). "US embassy cables leak sparks global diplomacy crisis". The Guardian. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
