Hackers Wars, Indictments, and Homeland Security: Today’s WikiLeaks News [Wikileaks]

Surprise, surprise: WikiLeaks-related headlines continue to explode at the top of the week. Most compelling? The old guard hackers of 2600 magazine condemning Anon kiddies, a Homeland Security employee protesting government access bans, and American spying charges looming over Assange.

2600 vs. Anonymous

If there’s anyone who knows hacking, it’s the crew behind 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. And not just because it’s in their name. 2600 is the Jedi Council of hacking-the wise establishment. They’re antithetical to the pimply-faced script kiddie stereotype that hacker has taken on today. They hack on principle. They hack well. They’ve been hacking for decades. So once they speak out against the loosely-4Chan organized Anonymous attacks, it rings loudly.

2600 published a press release of condemnation , saying the week’s DDoS attacks have done more to harm the WikiLeaks cause than help it: ” This may increasingly play right into the hands of people that prefer to paint us all as threats and clamp down on freedom of speech and impose all types of latest restrictions on the web, not to mention the indisputable fact that the exact same varieties of attacks can be utilized on ‘us’ in addition as ‘them.’” a good point. Most of the people rarely rallies behind a DDoS takedown of the credit card company they belong to-whether (or especially if) they don’t know what the hell a DDoS is. ” It certainly doesn’t help Wikileaks to be associated with such immature and boorish activities any further than it helps the hacker community,” 2600′s statement continues. In other words: Kids, stop acting like such kids.

Homeland Security Employee Says Gov Is Hurting Itself Through Censorship

An anonymous (no relation) employee at the dept of Homeland Security wants you to grasp that his employer is hurting itself. And you. Similar to the Library of Congress’ self-censorship , the tipster says DHS is solely hampering its own mission through WikiLeaks suppression. ” My grandmother can be allowed to access the cables, but not me. This seems ludicrous,” they begin. But looking lame compared on your grandmother is the least of it:

Part of creating informed judgments about what a foreign government or leader will do or factor in something relies on an understanding and analysis of what information has gone into their own deliberative processes. If foreign government workers learn about something within the Wikileaks documents, which clearly originated with the U.S., then they’ll certainly (and reasonably) assume that their US counterparts will find out about it too, including the staffers. If we don’t, they are going to assume that we simply do not care, are too arrogant, stupid or negligent to search out and skim the cloth, or are so unimportant that we’ve been intentionally not noted of the data loop.

DHS Person has a degree. Access is power, period. We’d like the folk answerable for our safety to have as much access as possible. Suppression based on blind principle alone is nothing but an ICBM to the foot.

Assange’s Lawyer Says US Spy Charges on the Way

The situation for Julian Assange -already locked up-might be getting worse. The one more thing perilous than Swedish rape charges? American spying charges . Assange’s attorney says US indictment charges could arrive at any point, potentially pinning Julian under the Espionage Act . Bad news. Whether extradition is on anyone’s mind is still seen.

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This post is tagged: dept of homeland security, freedom of speech, homeland security, indisputable fact, library of congress, surprise surprise