Operation Leakspin
Encyclopedia
Operation: Leakspin was conceived by Anonymous
, with the purpose of sorting through recent WikiLeaks
releases to identify and raise awareness of potentially important and previously overlooked cables.
and independently conducting a DDoS attack on websites such as Mastercard.com and Visa.com, a subset of those present and involved at the time decided to move towards more long-term-viable goals such as promoting dialogue and spreading the reach of the WikiLeaks cables.
The name is a pun on the "Leekspin" joke animation.
Due to the decentralized nature of the project, several independent websites are participating in the effort. It is not clear how much co-ordination, if any, exists between these sites. A list follows:
. Rather than attacking perceived enemies of the pro-Wikileaks movement, the sole focus is on propagating material determined to be of public interest. This potentially could lead to media outlets and the general public focusing on the issues uncovered by the released diplomatic cables rather than the morality or sensibility of DDoS attacks as a form of protest or Julian Assange
's current legal travails.
It is not clear if Operation Leakspin participants and organizers are working towards a massive global protest movement, such as Anonymous's Project Chanology
. Several Wikileaks-themed demonstrations have occurred globally, but appear to be isolated movements.
It is difficult to ascertain how much support Operation Leakspin has garnered in the Anonymous
community.
and Julian Assange
are potentially being targeted for criminal investigations in the United States in connection with releasing classified documents, there is no real possibility that Leakspin participants could be at legal risk in the USA due to the protections inherent in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Although arrests have taken place in connection with other pro-Wikileaks actions, there have so far been no reports of any Leakspin websites or activists being investigated.
Anonymous (group)
Anonymous is an international hacking group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. Originating in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, the term refers to the concept of many online community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic,...
, with the purpose of sorting through recent WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
releases to identify and raise awareness of potentially important and previously overlooked cables.
Background
When the Dutch police arrested a 16-year-old for personally creating a substantial botnetBotnet
A botnet is a collection of compromised computers connected to the Internet. Termed "bots," they are generally used for malicious purposes. When a computer becomes compromised, it becomes a part of a botnet...
and independently conducting a DDoS attack on websites such as Mastercard.com and Visa.com, a subset of those present and involved at the time decided to move towards more long-term-viable goals such as promoting dialogue and spreading the reach of the WikiLeaks cables.
The name is a pun on the "Leekspin" joke animation.
Structure
As with all actions by Anonymous, it has arisen in an ad-hoc fashion and holds neither a centralized leadership nor an enforceable command structure.Due to the decentralized nature of the project, several independent websites are participating in the effort. It is not clear how much co-ordination, if any, exists between these sites. A list follows:
- Cable Wiki: Meant to serve as a wiki for the translation of cables to multiple languages, together with additional analysis of the cables
- Sinde Gate: local group providing translations and explanations of cables related to the scandal "Wikileaks cables reveal that the US wrote Spain's proposed copyright law". "Sinde Gate" is named after the name of the responsible Spanish minister.
- Operation Leakspin Quality Control: a forum for quality control on the translation/analysis of the cables.
- Operation Leakspin Blog: a blog informing about the operation Leakspin.
- Operation AnonPress: An operation dedicated to pushing the US Embassy Cables further into the public domain.
Goals
Leakspin represents a sharp departure from the tactics of Operation PaybackOperation Payback
Operation Payback is a coordinated, decentralized group of attacks on opponents of Internet piracy by Internet activists using the "Anonymous" moniker - a group sometimes affiliated with the website 4chan. Operation Payback started as retaliation to distributed denial of service attacks on torrent...
. Rather than attacking perceived enemies of the pro-Wikileaks movement, the sole focus is on propagating material determined to be of public interest. This potentially could lead to media outlets and the general public focusing on the issues uncovered by the released diplomatic cables rather than the morality or sensibility of DDoS attacks as a form of protest or Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
's current legal travails.
It is not clear if Operation Leakspin participants and organizers are working towards a massive global protest movement, such as Anonymous's Project Chanology
Project Chanology
Project Chanology is a protest movement against the practices of the Church of Scientology by members of Anonymous, a leaderless Internet-based group that defines itself as ubiquitous...
. Several Wikileaks-themed demonstrations have occurred globally, but appear to be isolated movements.
It is difficult to ascertain how much support Operation Leakspin has garnered in the Anonymous
Anonymous (group)
Anonymous is an international hacking group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. Originating in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, the term refers to the concept of many online community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic,...
community.
Legal questions
Although WikileaksWikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
and Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
are potentially being targeted for criminal investigations in the United States in connection with releasing classified documents, there is no real possibility that Leakspin participants could be at legal risk in the USA due to the protections inherent in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Although arrests have taken place in connection with other pro-Wikileaks actions, there have so far been no reports of any Leakspin websites or activists being investigated.