There Are No Secrets Or Security In Cyber Space: Wikileaks Hacktivists Take Down Mastercard
Hacktivisits have taken down the Website of international card scheme MasterCard, in protest at the continuing blockade of funds for whistle-blowing outfit Wikileaks. The attack on MasterCard opens up a new front in the ongoing battle between underground hacking rings and large corporate interests. The latest assault comes six months after hackers, loosely organised under the 'Anonymous' umbrella, successfully disrupted the Internet operations of a clutch of international payments groups in retaliation for cutting off payments to Wikileaks. The humbling of MasterCard was posted on Twitter by Wikileaks, with an accompanying statement which named Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, Bank of America, and Western Union as the chief 'culprits' in an 'unlawful banking blockade' against the company. Visitors to the MasterCard Website are currently being timed out, indicating a massive denial of service attack on the card group. The attack comes just a week after now-disbanded hacking collective LulzSec announced plans to partner with Anonymous on a new campaign dubbed Operation Anti-Security, targeting banks and governmental agencies.  From Wikileaks’ massive collection of U.S. diplomatic cables, comes a very juicy piece of news that former Chinese Finance Minister Jin Renqing’s mistress at the time is thought to have been a spy for Taiwan. Jin resigned back in 2007 for personal reasons, but there many believed at the time that a sex scandal was the real reason. According to the Wikileaks cable, in addition to former SINOPEC Chairman Chen Tonghai the “promiscuous socialite had also been having affairs with several other high-level officials, including Sichuan Party Secretary and former Agricultural Minister Du Qinglin.” The woman is unidentified in the cable, but it is thought it could be Li Wei, who was profiled in Caijing magazine back in February. Li was quoted in the Chinese media as saying “You cannot invest all your resources and opportunities into one person, you have to construct a huge relationship net, like an umbrella.” Li was arrested for tax evasion but was released without trial in 2010. Check out the video from New York-based NTDTV from back in February which tells Li’s story, also referring to the relationship between Li and the ex-finance minister, citing the Caijing piece. As for the her being a spy, the Wikileaks cable seems to be the sole indication of that.
So far Wikileaks’ diplomatic cables relating to China have been fairly unremarkable. But this particular cable, if it proves to be true, would certainly be a big one. If it could ever get by the censors, this would make for a brilliant movie! The emergence of Wikileaks and ‘hacktivists’ have drastically impacted the online climate in which corporations and governments now have to operate. Most Asian nations now have ample cause to be on perpetual alert, as we’ve recently seen incidents in India,Indonesia, and Vietnam. China has gone so far as to prepare an online defense force called the Cyber Blue Team supposedly to safeguard against such attacks. @Lulzsec's Last Press Release Author: WL Central 2011/06/25 In a pastebin press release, @lulzsec says good bye, thank you, and carry on [+] Tags: hackers, lulzsec, wikileaks aftermath Introducing the Monthly International WikiLeaks Central Essay Competition. Brilliance equals payola. Author: WL Central 2011/06/22 WikiLeaks is a disruptive innovation in the field of publishing. Both a new [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath, journalism Interview with Tangerine Bolen: 'WikiLeaks kicked open the door...our responsibility to make sure that door never shuts again.' Author: WL Central 2011/06/22 According to Tangerine Bolen, her efforts are a deliberate attempt to show the [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath Is QuebecLeaks the New Democracy Watchdog to Replace Traditional Journalism Author: huffingtonpost.ca - Valerie Belair-Gagnon 2011/06/11 Is WikiLeaks and its parent websites replacing the role of traditional media [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath, journalism How WikiLeaks has changed today's media Author: CNN.com 2011/06/10 While investigating a recent story about the geopolitical battle for natural [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath, media Julian Assange: WikiLeaks Publishing Classified Documents Hasn't Resulted In Anyone Being Harmed Author: huffingtonpost.com 2011/06/05 No one has come to harm as a result of WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of [+] Tags: julian assange, wikileaks aftermath Henry Rollins on Wikileaks and government reform Author: WL Central 2011/05/19 In America's search for transparency, new organizations have been formed, such [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath Greg Mitchell on WikiLeaks and the Questions It Raises About Media Author: WL Central 2011/05/08 Traditional media organizations, especially those in the United States, are [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath, media, wall street journal Wall Street Journal Launches Its Own WikiLeaks Author: Huffington Post 2011/05/05 The Wall Street Journal wasn't on the receiving end of major WikiLeaks document [+] Tags: wall street journal, whistleblowing site, wikileaks aftermath This Week in WikiLeaks Presents Danny Schechter Talking About US Media Author: WL Central 2011/04/07 At the Left Forum in NYC, I spoke on a panel called "What Has WikiLeaks [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath, media Open Letter in Defence of WikiLeaks' Right to Publish Author: WL Central 2011/04/07 We believe that free societies everywhere are best served by journalism that [+] Tags: journalism, free speech, wikileaks aftermath NYU Law School Panel on the 'Anxiety' Caused in the World by WikiLeaks Author: WL Central 2011/03/25 A major panel discussion was recently put on by New York University Law. The [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath, free speech, journalism, national security Benkler's Anatomy of the Networked Fourth Estate Author: techPresident 2011/03/22 This working draft of a new paper by Harvard's Yochai Benkler is bopping around [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath, press Assange Is Not the Point, WikiLeaks Is Author: Huffington Post - Martin Varsavsky 2011/02/12 It is becoming common for people to say they don't like WikiLeaks because they [+] Tags: julian assange, wikileaks aftermath, media 'Pained' Libyan Dictator Blames Wikileaks for Tunisia Uprising Author: gawker.com 2011/01/18 As chaos reigns in neighboring Tunisia, Libya's "Brother Leader" Muammar [+] Tags: libya, tunisia, wikileaks aftermath Pained' Libyan Dictator Blames Wikileaks for Tunisia Uprising Author: gawker.com 2011/01/16 As chaos reigns in neighboring Tunisia, Libya's "Brother Leader" Muammar [+] Tags: tunisia, libya, wikileaks aftermath How WikiLeaks Unhinged Washington Author: consortiumnews.com 2011/01/12 The WikiLeaks disclosures have prompted a new round of craziness within the [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath WikiLeaks causes Singapore Officials to be Cautious with U.S Diplomats Author: Penn Olson 2011/01/10 Last month, there were several released documents from WikiLeaks, which showed [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath Instances Where Public Discourse Benefited from the Leaks Author: Electronic Frontier Foundation 2011/01/07 Regardless of the heated debate over the propriety of Wikileaks actions, some [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath The Pirate Party, And The Future Of The Internet Author: The New Republic 2011/01/07 American diplomacy seems to have survived Wikileaks s attack on the [+] Tags: wikileaks aftermath, corporations Japan earthquake: Japan warned over nuclear plants, WikiLeaks ... - telegraph.co.uk ABC Radio Australia News:Stories:Japanese nuclear operator under siege -radioaustralianews.net.au    |
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