WikiLeaks Posts Mysterious ‘Insurance’ File
- By Kim Zetter
- July 30, 2010 |
- 3:09 pm |
- Categories: Breaches, Wikileaks
In the wake of strong U.S. government statements condemning WikiLeaks’ recent publishing of 77,000 Afghan War documents, the secret-spilling site has posted a mysterious encrypted file labeled “insurance.”
The huge file, posted on the Afghan War page at the WikiLeaks site, is 1.4 GB and is encrypted with AES256. The file’s size dwarfs the size of all the other files on the page combined. The file has also been posted on a torrent download site.
WikiLeaks, on Sunday, posted several files containing the 77,000 Afghan war documents in a single “dump” file and in several other files containing versions of the documents in various searchable formats.
Cryptome, a separate secret-spilling site, has speculated that the new file added days later may have been posted as insurance in case something happens to the WikiLeaks website or to the organization’s founder, Julian Assange. In either scenario, WikiLeaks volunteers, under a prearranged agreement with Assange, could send out a password or passphrase to allow anyone who has downloaded the file to open it.
It’s not known what the file contains but it could include the balance of data that U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning claimed to have leaked to Assange before he was arrested in May.
In chats with former hacker Adrian Lamo, Manning disclosed that he had provided Assange with a different war log cache than the one that WikiLeaks already published. This one was said to contain 500,000 events from the Iraq War between 2004 and 2009. WikiLeaks has never commented on whether it received that cache.
Additionally, Manning said he sent Assange video showing a deadly 2009 U.S. firefight near the Garani village in Afghanistan that local authorities say killed 100 civilians, most of them children, as well as 260,000 U.S. State Department cables.
Manning never mentioned leaking the Afghan War log to WikiLeaks in his chats with Lamo, but Defense Department officials told The Wall Street Journal that investigators had found evidence on Manning’s Army computer that tied him to that leak.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen strongly condemned WikiLeaks’ publication of the Afghan War log at a Pentagon press briefing on Thursday.
Gates said the leak was “potentially severe and dangerous for our troops, our allies and our Afghan partners” and said that “tactics, techniques and procedures will become known to our adversaries” as a result.
Mullen was even more direct and said that WikiLeaks “might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier” or an Afghan informant who aided the United States.
Several media outlets have found the names of Afghan informants in the documents WikiLeaks published, as well as information identifying their location in some instances. A Taliban spokesman told Britain’s Channel 4 news that the group was sifting through the WikiLeaks documents to get the names of suspected informants and would punish anyone found to have collaborated with the United States and its allies.
Wired.com has sent a message to WikiLeaks inquiring about the file.
See also
- WikiLeaks Suspect’s YouTube Videos Raised ‘Red Flag’ in 2008
- Pentagon Says Bradley Manning a Possible Suspect in Afghan Leak
- Wikileaks Releases Stunning Afghan War Logs — Is Iraq Next?
- Wikileaks Cash Flows In, Drips Out
- Suspected Wikileaks Source Described Crisis of Conscience Leading to Leaks
- Army Intelligence Analyst Charged With Leaking Classified Information
- U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe
- U.S. Soldier on 2007 Apache Attack: What I Saw
Assange threw his hat into a conflict by knowingly putting the lives of civilian Afghan informers on the line. That just makes him another combatant taking lives in the conflict – not an activist, whistle-blower, or anti-war figurehead. But people are too blinded by politics and raging against the machine to even mention the money *Assange* has accepted for becoming involved in the conflict…
Disinformation cuts two ways: Imagine yourself a General unable to take direct political action against a client ally, Karzai, and his corrupt governance of a country with a history of corrupt practices that stretches back into centuries of feudal infighting. What better way than to engineer an information leak that will one – expose names of corrupt client politicians, two – discover pro-Taliban IP addresses and locations, and three – maintain the honor of the US government. Let the Taliban access the honey pot. Interested eyes want to know where you are … and who you are going to believe.
Some may remember that Wikileaks looked
abandoned for a while, and note that the
newest info is six months old.
That implies rather a bit of work.
Now, about this telling the Taliban how we
do things. Bull spit, it may give them
some details, but they’ve know from direct
observations how we do things.
Didn’t contact the Whitehouse. Hah, waist
of time, that. Anyone could predict the
answer.
Oh, and I don’t yet have an opinion about
whether this publication is good, bad or
indifferent.
>> He ruined the lives of innocent Afghans. I’m up for destroying wikileaks for this.
.
Because you care soooo very much for the lives of innocent Afghans.
.
The United States is all about stealing Afghanistan’s wealth. These obscene crocodile tears over human rights are not believed by anyone except the kool-aid drinkers who reside without the distortion bubble of America.
.
As an American of many decades, I can tell you that 99% of my fellow Americans absolutely and without remorse have no consideration or concern whatsoever for the plight of third world peoples. They just use it as a filthy and disingenuous debate tactic to justify their narcissism.
.
Americans might PRAY (which is to say, take 20 seconds out of their week to mumble in solitude) for the victims of our foreign policy even as their own children are out shooting them in the face for our national enrichment.
edit: within for without.
>> The military is generally evil, but generally incompetent as well. These two things combined make it only somewhat dangerous.
.
Keep telling yourself that.
>> Where were these guys under the Bush regime? I would have called them heroes if they’d gone against those murdering psychotics, but now they’re just showboating.
.
You’re an idiot if you think the current administration is a reversal of Bush.
@QkrsWeb | 07/31/10 | 4:08 pm | You wrote:
“Disinformation cuts two ways: Imagine yourself a General unable to take direct political action against a client ally, Karzai, and his corrupt governance of a country with a history of corrupt practices that stretches back into centuries of feudal infighting. What better way than to engineer an information leak that will one – expose names of corrupt client politicians, two – discover pro-Taliban IP addresses and locations, and three – maintain the honor of the US government. Let the Taliban access the honey pot. Interested eyes want to know where you are … and who you are going to believe.”
Just as Afghanistan has been feudal and corrupt for centuries, so has the knowledge of this corruption among the populace of Afghanistan. Wikileaks is not revealing any new reality to the Afghans, in fact it is a pale reflection of it. People believe want food in their bellies, they believe in their God and their own independence. The nature of man’s oppurtunism is inconsequential, because that realm belongs to a higher non-secular authority that is Allah. As long as some of it trickles down at whatever rate it does. No amount of tabloid style “revelation” is going to render a truth they already know. This truth is also known to anyone who has an understanding of Afghanistan and islam. That includes the CIA.
Your contention is as much of a shoehorn as the theory that Israel bombed WTC in 9/11 to turn the world against the muslims. Sorry FAIL.
The 1.4 gb file if gone from wikileaks.It has been replaced by a nearly 300mb one.
So, it’s a race to see who posts the decrypted torrent first, thereby ensuring the US take out Assange and his little cabal? On the bright side, Assange, if you ever see the light of day again, you will be able to report on US torture tactics first hand.
This thing should be charged with TREASON and all his partners are nothing more than a group of Quizlings: a fifth column group out to overthrow the US Government.
Does WIRED plan to do an editorial questioning the idea of selective “Leaks” as fair journalism? Or do i get more than he said/she said ONLY if I subscribe to Wired Magazine ? Cue “I’m a big kid now….”
@SMERtSHpionam:
You’re assuming whatever government exists is superior to anarchy. You haven’t shown the threshold of oppression and theft that justifies ditching government for a state of nature. Until you can, your argument is vapid.
Why did you delete my previous post?
We have an absolute right to blame the current situation on the gung ho soldiers who continue to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq, who are little more than underpaid mercenaries. It is not just Bush and his cronies anymore, who we should direct our protest at, but these soldiers who have had nearly 10 years to begin to espouse their reasons for being over there and the only ones who seem to articulate any coherent argument are absolutely against it, yet remain the vast minority.
What this soldier did in leaking this information was a helluva lot braver than killing 10 civilians for every Taliban killed and 1000 civilians for every Al Qaeda member killed.
I am India’s expert in strategic defence and the father of India’s strategic program, including the Integrated Guided Missiles Development Program. I have shown in my blog titled ‘Nuclear Supremacy For India Over U.S.’, which can be found by a Google search with the title, that all terrorism and insurgencies in the Indian subcontinent and in much of the rest of the world is sponsored by the C.I.A. Both Pakistan’s ISI and India’s RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) function as branches of the C.I.A. and participate in terrorism and insurgencies throughout the Subcontinent, under direction of the C.I.A. Yes, the ISI secretly supports the Taliban but it does so under direction from the C.I.A. whose modus operandi is support for ALL sides of a conflict to control the course of the conflict in service of its own goals. The goal of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and partial occupation of Pakistan is eventual occupation and overt colonial rule over the Subcontinent as a whole. This will not be permitted and all those participating in this enterprise, including the U.K., will be duly punished; see my blog. The document leak currently in the news has been made in preparation for abandonment of this goal and withdrawal from Afghanistan because of steps I have already taken for the nuclear destruction of New Delhi and then the coast-to-coast destruction of the United States by India with 5,000 thermonuclear warheads and extermination of its population; see my blog.
@SatishChandra
You are very clearly not an expert in anything except wild conspiracy theories.
@SpykerSpeed
The government exists to provide security for its people, which it does a reasonable job of. If you think the government doesn’t provide adequate security, feel free to move to a country like Belarus, where dissidents are routinely arrested and executed. If you really think anarchy is better than by all means move to Somalia. I hear the lack of a strong national government is going really well over there.
The fact of the matter is that you are able to say what you say simply because the government is liberal enough to allow it. Enjoy it or get the heck out of my country.
@SatishChandra: I imagine that, sir, in addition to your Indian nuclear arsenal of 5,000 weapons that shall devastate the US from coast to coast, you also have $25 million dollars from the late Nigerian dictator Sanii Abacha in a Swiss Bank Account, and all you need to transfer it to the Indian National Bank for withdrawal is $100,000 for “customs fees”. You will divide the proceeds from this transfer – $12.5 million – with the person who wires you the $100,000. Is that not correct?
If it is, then have I got the investment opportunity of the century for you. Sub-prime mortgages! Say you only have $25,000 and you need $100,000 to clear the customs fees on your Nigerian dictator’s bank account. Just put it in the Madoff & Co. Subprime Property Portfolio – and you’ll get the $100,000 in no time! Nothing could be safer! More secure!
Say you need an additional $25,000 to invest! @Daren_Gray says the US is stealing Afghanistan’s wealth! So I’m sure he knows where all that filthy lucre is entering into the US. Just imagine – the treasures of Afghanistan, ripe for the taking, worn out burkas, burnt-out vehicles, rusty AK-47s, horses, dust, plastic explosive, etc. We’ll be millionaires in no time!
@SMERtSHpionam : In your post to Daren_Gray,
You wrote :
“just imagine – the treasures of Afghanistan, ripe for the taking, worn out burkas, burnt-out vehicles, rusty AK-47s, horses, dust, plastic explosive, etc. We’ll be millionaires in no time!”
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/no-the-military-didnt-just-discover-an-afghan-mineral-motherlode/
The above WIRED article from June, estimates Afghanistan has over 1 Trillion in Lithium deposits alone. Lithium is used largely in the construction of computer hardware and mobile devices.
Further, it states that this knowledge has been an open secret within the military/energy resources community for a while.
Bete Satish, the best strategy right now is to get off daddy-ji’s computer so mummy-ji can change your diaper. And here’s 5 bucks for a reduced sentence.
Don’t blame the messenger.
You can be sure the US gov. will decode the encripted file. He’s a fool for having posted the 90,000 documents and more of a fool for having posted “insurence”. His acts will be considered that of a terrorist and the full clandestine wrath of the US Gov. operations will come down on him and his orgainzation. He will not win. He and his orgainzaiton will be made impotent before there is any reason to label this treason.
@MW: “You can be sure the US gov. will decode the encripted file.”
No, you can be sure they won’t decrypt that file. AES256 is very secure, and there is no known instance of such encryption being broken, by any government, anywhere. Since Assuange is not a citizen of the U.S., he can’t be accused of, jailed, or even convicted of treason.
Maybe you should go back to your conspiracy-theory bunker and try reading the Constitution.
amazing how many dullards have idea of the strength of the encryption. But then again, they voted for Bush. Twice.
Correction to a previous comment:
“As far as a suggestion as to something more constructive to do, I only note that not even 75 documents, never mind 75,000 documents, can be found on Wikileaks from ***those nations***. Perhaps Wikileaks might choose to focus on those, as by so doing, they might actually save some lives…”
What I meant by “those nations” is the “authoritarian and totalitarian dictatorships”, as everyone could use some more information regarding what they do, especially in terms of human rights. A far better and more noble use of time, IMO.
Of course, leaking North Korean or Iranian secrets isn’t nearly as easy or as PROFITABLE as leaking US secrets, as newspapers won’t pay to know North Korea shot 10 prisoners or is testing their latest poison gas on families of dissidents, or Iran has stoned to death 3 women convicted of premarital sex.
It seems to me that the core ethical question surrounding these information leaks, and the roles of Bradley Manning and Adrian Lamo, will have to do with which organizing center you most adhere to, protecting the interests of the nation-state, or recognizing a cosmopolitan ethics for the humans and other species. Since the biosphere is the larger whole, and the former a subgroup thereof that at present is engaging in actions that quite reasonably could be said to threaten the wellbeing of the latter categories, I think it’s time for humans to take their next evolutionary step and transcend social constructions like nation-states, corporations, etc–at least to the extent that these “entities” continue to structure human activities in ways that are destructive of planetary life. (I mean really, let’s get a grip–we humans created these “things,” after all.) And if we’re each going to think autonomously and act in ways that do respect life, we need all the information about what’s really going on, not a gag in the mouth of the messengers who are witnessing the unethical and helping us focus negative feedback upon it, ultimately for the survival of our species.
PASSWORD == ONION
# ONION
openssl enc -d -aes256 -in insurance.aes256 > out.dec
The decrypted files appears also to be encrypted.
Not sure what type of file it is …
It’s typical of any hacking isn’t it. Once the short term goal is completed, the hell with the consequences. The point is Assange is being Assange, and he’s doing what hackers typically do. If magazines and news papers publish such material, they have a responsibility to be more than proxy servers.
The really onus of clarity lies with the facilitators such as NYT, Guardian and Wired. They have the obligation and resources to put a face to this information and this war. If they are just proxies, then its pointless reading them and we can get our information directly off Wikileaks.
If nothing else, they need to show the instances where US military HAS applied oversight, or attempted to in relation to the instances where it hasn’t. It needs to give us an idea of what the response timeframes are in a conflict situation. They need to provide CONTEXT for all this information.
Assange is a polarizing figure as much as hacking and trading in military secrets is polarizing activity. If there’s no context, y’ll just have people either demonizing Assange or demonizing the military, and that is just useless back and forth, with the same players and the same opinions.
Interesting trump card wikileaks has put out there. It could be a recipe for chocolate cake over and over again or it could be something truly devastating that the government.. I mean if this was some sort of smoking gun why not release it?? I mean yes you always want to carry and ace in your sleeve however if it was that big then surely they couldn’t come after you after that??
Can AES256 be cracked?
Wikileaks has also sent the encryption key to the Pentagon. Now they KNOW what will be revealed if Assange is assassinated. This motivates them to them guard Assange and also improve their laughable internal security – lest the key also be stolen. Wikileaks does have a sense of humour.