Topic: Wikileaks:

[Something Worse]

I watched that too mate, the night of Brexit. It was interesting certainly, with some good guests.

But do you remember when Assange mentioned he had shit on Clinton that was going to shake-up the election? I remember it distinctly. And that was as far back as June 23rd.
So it's hard not to feel like there was a political agenda at work there. At least an anti-Clinton one.

He was definitely against the Obama administration of which Hillary was a part.

[Historical Fool]

I'm a big fan of the Chinese. No nation, system or government has done more for it's people in a single generation than the Chinese. Russian autocrats, Syrian dictators etc are all in it for themselves and while there are corrupt politicians in China, the party overall def. seems to be doing things for the 'greater good'.

Of course, people will criticize them for lack of freedom and for not installing 'democracy' when it's crystal clear especially now that democracy is a bit of a joke. Theory trumps reality, I guess 

This gets overlooked way too much in the China bashing that goes on around here. Not expecting anything else, though - it's a Western dominated forum (even if there are more nationalities here than just Liverpudlian, which may or may not have been its original intent), and how you're brought up, your race, your colour, necessarily shapes how you see the world.

[Filler.]

I watched that too mate, the night of Brexit. It was interesting certainly, with some good guests.

But do you remember when Assange mentioned he had shit on Clinton that was going to shake-up the election? I remember it distinctly. And that was as far back as June 23rd.
So it's hard not to feel like there wasn't a political agenda at work there. At least an anti-Clinton one.

Yes I do. I remember it in an abstract way. I can't remember a quote, but I remember the 'feel'. To me it was both anti Clinton, and anti Trump - Trump I don't think was realistically on their radar, anti this, anti that - just a group of people chatting. Enjoyed the night.

Power gets to all our heads.

[Filler.]

This is what upsets me most... I literally don't have a clue at what is going on anymore.

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

This gets overlooked way too much in the China bashing that goes on around here. Not expecting anything else, though - it's a Western dominated forum (even if there are more nationalities here than just Liverpudlian, which may or may not have been its original intent), and how you're brought up, your race, your colour, necessarily shapes how you see the world.

A lot of views expressed in this and other similar threads would be disparaged and showed up for the load of quasi western supremacist imperialistic rhetoric disguised as 'nuanced' opinion.

I literally have nothing in common with these posters. 

The west is great... Iraq libya and hundreds of invasions, regime changes, economic exploitation and cultural imposition do not matter... They are still the beacons of civilization and hope...as the millions in the destabilized and exploited will attest to...  There are more such countries waiting to be liberated..  NATO is the justice league of the world.. Evil Russians and Chinese need to be putin their place..

You have to laugh ... 

[Yorkykopite]

A lot of views expressed in this and other similar threads would be disparaged and showed up for the load of quasi western supremacist imperialistic rhetoric disguised as 'nuanced' opinion.

I literally have nothing in common with these posters. 

The west is great... Iraq libya and hundreds of invasions, regime changes, economic exploitation and cultural imposition do not matter... They are still the beacons of civilization and hope...as the millions in the destabilized and exploited will attest to...  There are more such countries waiting to be liberated..  NATO is the justice league of the world.. Evil Russians and Chinese need to be putin their place..

This post is representative of what I was referring to earlier. The inability to be fair to your opponents' arguments and the tendency to distort them and turn them into something they aren't.

[classycarra]

A lot of views expressed in this and other similar threads would be disparaged and showed up for the load of quasi western supremacist imperialistic rhetoric disguised as 'nuanced' opinion.

In what world do you have to be to believe that skepticism as to Julian Assange's behaviour can be seen as "quasi western supremacist imperialistic"? (Likewise the other hyperbolic, tangential nonsense you brought up)

[SP]

Wikileaks was founded to release information from whistleblowers that lacked the technical wherewithal to do so themselves.

Why on earth were the involved with releasing information from a Russian hacker group that had the technical wherewithal to release it themselves. Wikileaks added nothing but their notoriety to the release of materials. There was no reason for them to be involved other than a personal vendetta.

[mattybeard]

Can't find a relevant thread other than an old Assange once that's been locked.

Wikileaks released buckets of "CIA" materials with some interesting claims.

• Samsung TV's convert to bugs
• Microsoft PC's have backdoors on demand
• Skype conversations converted to text and potentially stored in CIA.

Makes for interesting reading. https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/

[west_london_red]

Can't find a relevant thread other than an old Assange once that's been locked.

Wikileaks released buckets of "CIA" materials with some interesting claims.

• Samsung TV's convert to bugs
• Microsoft PC's have backdoors on demand
• Skype conversations converted to text and potentially stored in CIA.

Makes for interesting reading. https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/

What about my Samsung washing machine? Is that safe from the CIA?

[Redman0151]

Wikileaks has become so politicised the past year that it's hard to believe their claims now

[cloggypop]

The Samsung TVs listening to you has been known about for two years

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/samsung-smart-tv-spying/

[Lusty]

So the CIA performs espionage, and some Internet of Things devices are insecure, that's the news here?

Interesting stuff for security researchers but probably wouldn't throw the telly out just yet.

[cdav]

Russia leaking things to Wikileaks again?

Its probably safe to presume that they, the intelligence services, can hack pretty much any device. Its their job to do so.

[Something Worse]

Wikileaks has become so politicised the past year that it's hard to believe their claims now

I think they still have an incredible track record of accuracy don't they? The politicizing was choosing what to release and when to release it, but I think overall they're as accurate as it gets.

[conman]

Russia leaking things to Wikileaks again?

Its probably safe to presume that they, the intelligence services, can hack pretty much any device. Its their job to do so.

That doesn't justify their jobs and It doesn't mean that we should shrug our shoulders and accept it.

[conman]

The most worrying part of all this, is that the cia lost control of these hacking tools and backdoors to the black market.

I can't be arsed to change my Tapatalk settings because my time is more important than yours

[mattybeard]

A few things I found interesting is how they have used a commonly used jailbreak exploit by iconic (or some other l33t spelling) and called it "ironic" to show they have a sense of humour.

Other weird names are in there too, "Pocket Putin" and such. If it is a hoax or faked leak documents, it's an in depth hoax!

Seeing KimDotCom on Twitter going into a melt down is fun too.

[Lusty]

The most worrying part of all this, is that the cia lost control of these hacking tools and backdoors to the black market.

I can't be arsed to change my Tapatalk settings because my time is more important than yours

That's actually the only newsworthy part of this. The rest of the revelations are just the CIA doing its job as far as I can tell.

The fact that they've lost control of it, and there's circumstantial evidence that the Russians did it, is pretty embarrassing.

[KillieRed]

Wikileaks has become so politicised the past year that it's hard to believe their claims now

Indeed. There must be shitloads of stuff on Trump.

They don`t have that?

Where are his tax returns?

All the great hackers in the world and they can`t get anything really damaging on this fella? Seems unlikely.

[conman]

That's actually the only newsworthy part of this. The rest of the revelations are just the CIA doing its job as far as I can tell.

The fact that they've lost control of it, and there's circumstantial evidence that the Russians did it, is pretty embarrassing.

You say it's their job. But they were warned against creating backdoors and removing encryption for exactly this reason. They went ahead and did it anyway, and low and behold they lose it.

Government agencies are running amok and making our very security that they are paid to protect, much worse

I can't be arsed to change my Tapatalk settings because my time is more important than yours

[Titi Camara]

Who fucking cares, if some government wally wants to sits there listening to me scratching my nuts, watching porn, eating pizza, playing computer games and watching naff horror flicks that's up to him!

[Red Beret]

Who fucking cares, if some government wally wants to sits there listening to me scratching my nuts, watching porn, eating pizza, playing computer games and watching naff horror flicks that's up to him!

If you've got nothing to hide then you have nothing to worry about.

[Lusty]

You say it's their job. But they were warned against creating backdoors and removing encryption for exactly this reason. They went ahead and did it anyway, and low and behold they lose it.

Government agencies are running amok and making our very security that they are paid to protect, much worse

I can't be arsed to change my Tapatalk settings because my time is more important than yours

They're not creating backdoors or removing encryption though from what I've read. None of this seems to be useful for bulk surveillance either.

If they had showed for example that the CIA were working with Samsung to deliberately create backdoors so that they could spy on all their citizens then yes, that would be worrying. But the fact that the CIA have found some vulnerabilities in some specific versions of some software is not surprising.

I'd rather they disclosed them to the vendors and got them patched before the bad guys find them as well, but that's not their job.

[conman]

They're not creating backdoors or removing encryption though from what I've read. None of this seems to be useful for bulk surveillance either.

If they had showed for example that the CIA were working with Samsung to deliberately create backdoors so that they could spy on all their citizens then yes, that would be worrying. But the fact that the CIA have found some vulnerabilities in some specific versions of some software is not surprising.

I'd rather they disclosed them to the vendors and got them patched before the bad guys find them as well, but that's not their job.

The cia have built backdoors

I can't be arsed to change my Tapatalk settings because my time is more important than yours

[Lusty]

The cia have built backdoors

I can't be arsed to change my Tapatalk settings because my time is more important than yours

Care to elaborate?

[kennedy81]

They're not creating backdoors or removing encryption though from what I've read. None of this seems to be useful for bulk surveillance either.

If they had showed for example that the CIA were working with Samsung to deliberately create backdoors so that they could spy on all their citizens then yes, that would be worrying. But the fact that the CIA have found some vulnerabilities in some specific versions of some software is not surprising.

I'd rather they disclosed them to the vendors and got them patched before the bad guys find them as well, but that's not their job.

Snowden has also suggested that these government agencies have been paying to keep software unsafe.
Not sure who they are paying, but if it's the tech companies, then that is a serious worry.

https://t.co/kYi0NC2mOp

[Lusty]

Snowden has also suggested that these government agencies have been paying to keep software unsafe.
Not sure who they are paying, but if it's the tech companies, then that is a serious worry.

https://t.co/kYi0NC2mOp

Not sure if I'm reading that right, but the suggestion seems to be that they are collaborating with other agencies (specifically GCHQ), not the tech companies themselves. Also they're unintentional vulnerabilities, not backdoors.

We know already that there are companies that discover and hoard vulnerabilities and sell them to governments, but that's not the same as an intentional back door.

I'm not trying to defend anything in the Snowden revelations by the way, but this latest leak is not really telling us anything new as far as I can tell.

[classycarra]

I think they still have an incredible track record of accuracy don't they? The politicizing was choosing what to release and when to release it, but I think overall they're as accurate as it gets.

Who exactly is verifying that? Who is perusing hundreds of thousands of confidential documents and clarifying that they match their record?

Has Edrogan got a team to verify their documents and press release it? How about the Saudi's, have they commented on how accurate it is?

Absence of critique doesn't mean it's as accurate as it gets

[Red Beret]

I really think that all this proves is that Wikileaks is determined to attack and undermine the checks and balances put in to safeguard the USA's political system. 

Trump's attempts to criticise his own intelligence agencies have been repeatedly brushed aside, so Wikileaks has stepped in to create paranoia and distrust against the system - something Trump and his cronies thrive off.

We really are seeing the opening shots of a full scale InfoWar here.  Time for the CIA and FBI et all to go on the offensive.

[Lusty]

Decent summary of what's in there:

https://m.theregister.co.uk/2017/03/08/cia_exploit_list_in_full/

Interesting for example that the Samsung TV exploit would require the CIA to break into your house with a USB stick. I'd say that by the stage the CIA are in my house I've got bigger problems to deal with than my TV.

[Red Beret]

Well it's no accident that this "revelation" comes days after Obama's team categorically denies wire tapping the President Elect, and emphasising that no President has the power to authorise such a move.

This is basically once more fogging the issue by telling people, "see, you don't KNOW what your government is capable of.  They can spy on you, right through your TV, so how do YOU know a President wouldn't wire tap his successor??"

It's just ironic that all these things that Trump claims are happening to him are exactly the kind of things he would do if he was in his opponents' position; the only issue being he doesn't understand that the rule of law prevents you from doing them.

[classycarra]

Well it's no accident that this "revelation" comes days after Obama's team categorically denies wire tapping the President Elect, and emphasising that no President has the power to authorise such a move.

This is basically once more fogging the issue by telling people, "see, you don't KNOW what your government is capable of.  They can spy on you, right through your TV, so how do YOU know a President wouldn't wire tap his successor??"

It's just ironic that all these things that Trump claims are happening to him are exactly the kind of things he would do if he was in his opponents' position; the only issue being he doesn't understand that the rule of law prevents you from doing them.

Indeed.

Don't forget the distinct lack of 'investigations',rewards being offered or just plain leaks about Russia's kleptocratic rulers. Russia is not a country that lacks political dissidents, I am sure there were opportunities for Wikileaks to 'scrutinise' (ha) Russia

[KillieRed]

I went to dig out my old tinfoil hat the day that those grey boxes started to appear at the end of EVERY street.

I saw a couple of guys loading red boxes into them the other day. What are those?  Batteries?  Big Brothers storage devices?  😕😠

[Something Worse]

Who exactly is verifying that? Who is perusing hundreds of thousands of confidential documents and clarifying that they match their record?

Has Edrogan got a team to verify their documents and press release it? How about the Saudi's, have they commented on how accurate it is?

Absence of critique doesn't mean it's as accurate as it gets

You can google it as easily as I can for you. Nobody ever really questions the accuracy of the leaks. Nobody says they edit or change the documents they leak. Even when the Podesta emails came out, nobody challenged the content.

[downtown]

It's so funny to see the socialists and liberals in full love with CIA these days. Talk about lacking any principles whatsoever.

We all knew the bastards watch us all the time, can hear us, and record our conversations many years ago (some people called it conspiracy theory)...

but two biggest revelations here are:
CIA has tools to remote control chips in cars, trucks, planes, medical devices and hospital tech with assassination potential.
With PROJECT UMBRAGE, CIA can leave "Digital Fingersprints" to direct suspicion of hacking to a different group or country.

CIA is the most evil organization in the world, and the biggest sponsor of chaos and terrorism in the world. As an Iranian, we have first hand experienced the consequences of their evil actions when they staged a coup to bring down one of the most loved and capable men in Iranian history in 1953. There are close to 80 other countries who've been adversely affected by CIA operations, coups, color revolutions, wars and proxies over the last 60 years. JFK knew CIA are scum and hated them and wanted to splinter "CIA into a thousand pieces", but sadly they killed him.

[nick_8589]

It's so funny to see the socialists and liberals in full love with CIA these days. Talk about lacking any principles whatsoever.

We all knew the bastards watch us all the time, can hear us, and record our conversations many years ago (some people called it conspiracy theory)...

but two biggest revelations here are:
CIA has tools to remote control chips in cars, trucks, planes, medical devices and hospital tech with assassination potential.
With PROJECT UMBRAGE, CIA can leave "Digital Fingersprints" to direct suspicion of hacking to a different group or country.

CIA is the most evil organization in the world, and the biggest sponsor of chaos and terrorism in the world. As an Iranian, we have first hand experienced the consequences of their evil actions when they staged a coup to bring down one of the most loved and capable men in Iranian history in 1953. There are close to 80 other countries who've been adversely affected by CIA operations, coups, color revolutions, wars and proxies over the last 60 years. JFK knew CIA are scum and hated them and wanted to splinter "CIA into a thousand pieces", but sadly they killed him.

Careful they'll be watching this too you know!!!

On an unrelated note, I do have some tinfoil hats for sale PM me I'll do you a deal.

[Zeb]

It's so funny to see the socialists and liberals in full love with CIA these days. Talk about lacking any principles whatsoever.

I've enjoyed watching socialists and liberals sucking on the teat of Russian military intelligence for decades even more. And that isn't conspiracy theory by any stretch of the imagination.

The two biggest revelations you cite aren't actually revelations if you think about it a bit. Using tools commonly associated with a third party so they get blamed if you get caught is as old as spying. The vulnerabilities of technology in places like hospitals is also something which has been discussed quite widely. (eg Here's an article in Wired about it from 3 years ago). One of the most widely discussed hacking operations by a state sponsor (US/Israel) was to very carefully manipulate industrial centrifuges into failing randomly so that the engineers trying to run the place would look incompetent and no work would get done. (Stuxnet has loads written about it over the past 7 years). What's the difference, in application of such tools, between that and hospital equipment?

[J_Kopite]

CIA is the most evil organization in the world, and the biggest sponsor of chaos and terrorism in the world.

Yeah I'm pretty sure they aren't.

[classycarra]

Yeah I'm pretty sure they aren't.

He's finally got rid of his Putin avatar, which would have helped contextualise that statement.

His JFK conspiracy theory does a job, in Putin's absense, on harming his credibility