cryptome

Cryptome.org hacked--and inadvertently spreads infection

Someone compromised the free-speech, antisurveillance repository Cryptome.org and hid malware on the site that infected Web surfers over the weekend, Cryptome.org reported.

A malicious PHP file was added to the site on Wednesday and a new directory was created that had logged nearly 3,000 IP addresses between Wednesday and Sunday, according to a post on the site.

The Cryptome.org post said thousands of HTML files in the site's main directory were found to be contaminated with a malicious script that appeared to download exploits from the Blackhole Toolkit "that may compromise a computer though … Read more

Police procedures leaked for getting into Facebook, other accounts

Confidential guidelines telling police how to access Facebook, Microsoft, Blizzard, and AOL user accounts have appeared online this week.

The files, known colloquially as law enforcement guidelines, typically tell police what types of user data are stored, how long they're retained, and what procedures to use to gain access to them.

A few types of requests--for e-mail less than 180 days old, for instance--tend to require search warrants. In general, basic subscriber information can be disclosed with a subpoena, and a court order is required for more extensive information (whether that's sufficient is the subject of ongoing litigation … Read more

Reporters' Roundtable: Can you trust WikiLeaks?

WikiLeaks launched in 2006 with the stated goal of being an open repository for documents that governments were trying to keep buried. It has become, though, more of a simple repository of U.S. military secrets. The site became notorious in 2007, when it released graphic U.S. military video of a helicopter attack on Iraqi civilians. It's released two other big caches of U.S. military docs recently, on Afghanistan and Iraq. And, despite its name, it's done so not in the wiki way--open and transparent--but selectively, giving media organizations advance news.

The site's main founder, Julian Assange, gets nearly as much press as the site itself. He has been described as "on the run" by The New York Times in an unflattering story that ran alongside a major feature detailing new findings from documents WikiLeaks released. To say Assange has an uneasy relationship with the mainstream media is an understatement.

Today we're talking about WikiLeaks and another site similar in some ways to it, Cryptome, focusing on their effect on journalism and government.

We have two guests. First up, Declan McCullagh, political reporter for CNET News. Later in our show, we're joined by John Young, the man who registered WikiLeaks.org, and the founder of Cryptome, one of the Web's first repositories of leaked documents and top-secret information.

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Show notes and talking points… Read more

Wikileaks' estranged co-founder becomes a critic (Q&A)

NEW YORK--John Young was one of Wikileaks' early founders. Now he's one of the organization's more prominent critics.

Young, a 74-year-old architect who lives in Manhattan, publishes a document-leaking Web site called Cryptome.org that predates Wikileaks by over a decade. He's drawn fire from Microsoft after posting leaked internal documents about police requests, irked the U.K. government for disclosing the names of possible spies, and annoyed Homeland Security by disclosing a review of Democratic National Convention security measures.

Cryptome's history of publicizing leaks--while not yielding to pressure to remove them--is what led Young to … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1174: Pregnant robot drones

In and amongst our fights over Facebook patents, TV spectrum and the reasons for the decline of music, we find time to agree on one thing. Robot drones are cool. Robot drobnes that carry little baby drones with them are even cooler.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1174

Microsoft drops Cryptome 'spy' document fight

Microsoft has withdrawn a copyright complaint against the Cryptome site over its publication of internal Microsoft guidelines for how the software giant can provide user data to law enforcement.

Cryptome, a watchdog site that publishes sensitive corporate and government documents, was taken offline after Microsoft complained Wednesday about its publishing the document "Microsoft Global Criminal Compliance Handbook," also referred to as Microsoft's Surveillance Guide, citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Microsoft on Thursday morning notified Network Solutions that it was withdrawing its complaint and the domain registrar put the Cryptome site back online, said Network Solutions spokeswoman … Read more

Microsoft action hits Cryptome Web site

The Web site Cryptome, which publishes sensitive corporate and government files, was taken down briefly by its provider after Microsoft complained of copyright infringement over the publication of one of its documents.

Cryptome often posts documents detailing the surveillance activities that companies and government agencies perform on behalf of law enforcement officials. These documents, which Cryptome refers to as "lawful spying guides," explain what information companies reveal about its customers when requested by legal authorities. Many of these documents are specifically written for law enforcement officials to guide them on obtaining customer information from a company--what to ask … Read more