As government authorities here and abroad weigh possible criminal charges against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder is giving them grounds for adding a new charge—blackmail.
Unless the government calls off its dogs, Assange warns, he will unleash a cache of documents so sensitive and incriminating that their release would throw the world into a state of turmoil.
Among the classified media in what The Sunday Times of London is calling Assange’s “insurance” file are an aerial video of a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan that killed civilians and damning documents on a range of topics from the BP Gulf oil spill to alleged abuses at Guantanamo Bay.
The insurance file, which has already been downloaded in encrypted form by tens of thousands of WikiLeaks’ supporters, is accessed by means of a 256-digit key code, which experts have said is virtually unbreakable. The file—named “insurance.aes256”—has been on the U.S. Defense Department’s radar since July, though its exact contents have yet to be ascertained.
Assange, who remains in hiding, warned over the weekend that he will release the password if he is taken into custody or the WikiLeaks website is permanently shut down. Experts on computer security caution against calling his bluff. One expert, quoted by The Sunday Times, states:
Julian’s a smart guy and this is an interesting tactic. He will hope it deters anyone from acting against him.
Another, a professor of cryptology at the U.K.'s Bristol University, commented that even powerful military computers would be unable to crack the code, adding, “This isn’t something that can be broken with a modern computer. You need the key to open it.”
U.S. government officials have yet to make a formal statement in response to the threat. Late last week, in a move that FOX News reporter Mike Emanuel aptly described as "a case of closing the barn door after the horses are out," the Obama administration warned federal employees and contractors not to look at the documents released by WikiLeaks because they lack the clearance code to read the classified information contained therein. No directives were issued to the 6.8 billion remaining inhabitants of the planet who do not work for the U.S. government.
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Comments
Good, the Fascists are trying to silence the truth!
@ A Real American
The truth? These are classified government documents. I'm as big a fan of "the truth" as anyone but not when WW3 hangs in the balance.
He is obviously a threat and should be considered a spy.
I wonder how long before he gets "disappeared"?
And which country's spies get him "disappeared"?
Before he gets "disappeared," he has to get "found." Nobody knows where he is.
you must be young...half of the major players of the world already have a lock on him...they are just waiting for the "go ahead" to be given....everyone leaves a trail...this guy had creditcards in his name, he had to use a passport to move between countries, he had a cell phone. he has friends and family that can be interrogated....do you really believe he hasn't been found? This guy wasn't "The Jackel"...we knew who he was, who he hangs out with...several countries want him, countries with spies.....believe me, if someone in power says "bring him in" he will be brought in in 15 minutes....the only reason he hasn't been brought in, is that the world powers are still deciding who is going to "bring him in" or "dissappear" him and what to tell the public afterwards.
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shoes4world dot com
yeah, that's how they found Julian Assange...he was trying to buy shoes at your website when the KGB turned him in.
"he was trying to buy shoes at your website ..." LOL
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