Password program stolen in Chinese Google cyberattack

20 Apr 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized

In a report yesterday by the New York Times(NYT), an anonymous source identified some of the information stolen in the December cyberattack on Google. The hacks prompted the company’s withdrawal from the Chinese market. Google has only specified that “intellectual property” was compromised in the attack, but the NYT claims its sources have confirmed that a password programme called Gaia, which allowed Google employees and other users access to a range of its web services, was one of the targets. No personal Gmail passwords or account details were breached, but the attack revealed vulnerabilities within Google’s own security system. To date, Google has refused to commented on the situation. US Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton has called for a “transparent” Chinese inquiry into the incident.

CIA destruction of video tapes documented

20 Apr 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized

Internal CIA e-mails show the former agency head, Porter Goss, approved a decision by one of his top aides to destroy 92 videotapes documenting the brutal interrogation of two detainees. The emails were released in a document by the American Civil Liberties Union, as part of a freedom of information lawsuit. “These documents provide further evidence that senior CIA officials were willing to risk being prosecuted for obstruction of justice in order to avoid being prosecuted for torture”, ACLU lawyer Ben Wizner said.

Robert Gates criticises Wikileaks

14 Apr 10 | Index Index, minipost

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has criticised Wikileaks, over its release of a video showing a 2007 US helicopter attack that killed 12 people in Baghdad. Gates said the videos released by the group were out of context and provided an incomplete picture of the battlefield, comparing it to war as seen “through a soda straw.” “These people can put out anything they want, and they’re never held accountable for it. There’s no before and there’s no after,” Gates said.