Amazon discontinues WikiLeaks hosting

[rpm]

Amazon stops WikiLeaks hosting

US online retail giant Amazon has stopped using its servers to host the WikiLeaks website, which was sluggish Wednesday and inaccessible in some regions, a US senator said.

 

[adrianx]

Maybe I'm stupid and uninformed (very possible), but I love this WikiLeaks phenomenon!

I'm sure people were just as horrified at the Hippie movement back in the sixties.

 

[rpm]

President Barack Obama on Wednesday named an anti-terrorism expert to lead US efforts to mitigate the damage of the WikiLeaks breach and prevent future illegal data disclosures, the White House said.

Russell Travers, deputy director of information sharing at the National Counterrorism Center, "will lead a comprehensive effort to identify and develop the structural reforms needed in light of the WikiLeaks breach," the White House said in a statement.

Washington has been in damage control mode ever since the whistleblower website last weekend began publicly disclosing some 250,000 secret US diplomatic cables, many of which revealed embarrassing assessments of foreign leaders.

While the White House was seeking to downplay the impact of the security violations as late as Wednesday, the Travers appointment was among the clearest signs that the Obama administration was seriously stung by the data dump and was taking substantive steps to avoid a repeat.

Among his new duties, Travers will be advising national security staff on "corrective actions, mitigation measures, and policy recommendations related to the breach," according to the White House.

He will also coordinate interagency discussions on developing actions "regarding technological and/or policy changes to limit the likelihood of such a leak reoccurring."

Travers has been tasked with collating the stream of terrorism-related information pouring into US agencies since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Washington Post describes him as the maintainer of the government database of terrorist entities and a coordinator of terrorism information-sharing initiatives.

The National Counter-Terrorism Center where he works was among several agencies blamed for failing to uncover a plot to blow up a US airliner on Christmas Day last year.

The vast majority of the cables revealed by WikiLeaks in its latest document dump originated from the State Department or its diplomats in overseas missions, and State has launched a review of its security procedures.

"The department will also deploy an automated tool that will continuously monitor the classified network to detect anomalies that would not be readily apparent," as well as staff who will analyze the anomalies "to ensure that they do not represent threats to the system," the White House said.

The president's intelligence advisory board (PIAB) will look at ways the executive branch shares and protects classified data, and will work "with departments and agencies across the government to ensure they gain a comprehensive appreciation of all relevant challenges and requirements necessary to safeguard classified information and networks."

PIAB will "examine the current posture of the whole of government" in terms of leaks of classified data and will "examine the balance between the need to share information and the need to protect information."

 

[goselito]

Hmmm, is it just me or is there something fishy when a hacker all of a sudden decides to do a DDOs attack on a site that hurts the US more than any other country?

 

[LazyLion]

Well done Amazon.

 

[VioAdmin]

Damn, oh well, Amazon was just hosting them to boost popularity for the service, it was pretty much free hosting. I am sure they also stole some data they were hosting and have returned it back to the US/Europe.

WikiLeaks needs to get get hosted over in N.Korea or these super independent countries, heck, he might as well try hosting in Zimbabwe!

 

[Gatecrasher]

Lives at risk. Lives at risk. Lives at risk.

If you repeat a lie often enough it will eventually be believed.

It is not the truth that damages but the deceit.

 

[Fudzy]

I'm sure there'll be groups willing to mirror the site.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Damn, oh well, Amazon was just hosting them to boost popularity for the service, it was pretty much free hosting. I am sure they also stole some data they were hosting and have returned it back to the US/Europe.

WikiLeaks needs to get get hosted over in N.Korea or these super independent countries, heck, he might as well try hosting in Zimbabwe!

 

[Gatecrasher]

Don't go there.

 

[warchylde]

I was trying to come up with something smart and witty to say but alas I am at a loss - Amazon you weak spineless scum. Grow a pair and leave the web as the final voice of those that CAN think for themselves. Stop trying to play along with those that want lemmings.

 

[nakedpeanut]

They should just (if they haven't already) create torrents for the files.. That would be the easiest I think.. What better way to achieve continual distribution of the materials..

 

[snobee]

They should just (if they haven't already) create torrents for the files.. That would be the easiest I think.. What better way to achieve continual distribution of the materials..

Yes, seems like they are already there. Can't say for definite, as files can be hoax's, but my wikileaks search shows torrents for "cablegate" and "afghan war diary", so I guess they are around. The cable ones are from the past few days.

 

[Rustum]

Barack Obama, 21 January 2009:

"But the way to make a government responsible is not simply to enlist the services of responsible men and women, or to sign laws that ensure that they never stray. The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable. And the way to make government accountable is make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they're being made, and whether their interests are being well served.

The directives I am giving my administration today on how to interpret the Freedom of Information Act will do just that. For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information but those who seek to make it known."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press...ior-staff-and-cabinet-secretaries-white-house

 

[murraybiscuit]

Barack Obama, 21 January 2009:

"But the way to make a government responsible is not simply to enlist the services of responsible men and women, or to sign laws that ensure that they never stray. The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable. And the way to make government accountable is make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they're being made, and whether their interests are being well served.

The directives I am giving my administration today on how to interpret the Freedom of Information Act will do just that. For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information but those who seek to make it known."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press...ior-staff-and-cabinet-secretaries-white-house

wow. the irony is dripping.

 

[Bosvark@]

Amazon - some things are just not supposed to be known to ohers - like your ex girlfriends to your wife...

 

[smokey]

Barack Obama, 21 January 2009:

"But the way to make a government responsible is not simply to enlist the services of responsible men and women, or to sign laws that ensure that they never stray. The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable. And the way to make government accountable is make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they're being made, and whether their interests are being well served.

The directives I am giving my administration today on how to interpret the Freedom of Information Act will do just that. For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information but those who seek to make it known."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press...ior-staff-and-cabinet-secretaries-white-house

I LOLed.

 

[MidnightWizard]

Lies , Sex & Cables

There are a few things one CANNOT do

Amongst these are ..............

NOT pay taxes

Show the intimate link between Israel and America ( Jews with Israeli AND American citizenship dictate Middle East policy )

Show that behind EVERY ANC functionary is a person from the Asian subcontinent ( who are telling everyone to NOT take the cables seriously )

It seems that the leaks man has this time broken too many of the "Golden Rules"

[ Just look at who is complaining the most -- hiding from the truth ]

 

[DigitalSoldier]

Barack Obama, 21 January 2009:

"But the way to make a government responsible is not simply to enlist the services of responsible men and women, or to sign laws that ensure that they never stray. The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable. And the way to make government accountable is make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they're being made, and whether their interests are being well served.

The directives I am giving my administration today on how to interpret the Freedom of Information Act will do just that. For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information but those who seek to make it known."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press...ior-staff-and-cabinet-secretaries-white-house

lol!

go Obama

 

[jetlee]

This is a case of pure indimidation .. gangster style .. its like in the movies when a gangster witnesses another gangster shooting someone... then the issue becomes whether the witness testifies or not and is a "bad guy", rather than focusing on the fact that someone in fact shot someone .... America is moaning about dirty laundry being aired (which the public are well within rights to know) in the attempt to divert form the said dirty laundry.... It smacks of double standard .. intelligence is allowed to accumulate secret data for their own use, but no-one else is allowed to do the same .. surely gathering intelligence is not against the law .. and then choosing to make the intelligence public, is the decision of the owner of intelligence. Perhaps instead of focusing on the published intelligence, the US may be better served in figuring out exactly how the intelligence was smuggled out.

Seems like an awful lot of work .. maybe thats why they bleating about wikileaks .. they too lazy to do the legwork for the other stuff ?? .. so instead, lets lean on the legitmate company hosting the website, and threaten them with all sorts of nasties, and then wikileaks is dead ... hmmm ... wrong .... but we'll see .. if it goes underground, its likely to be even harder for the US to control.