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Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#341

Post by daturkel »

nickpsecurity wrote: post #219
TAForObvReasons wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technical question: assuming no targeted malware, is it possible for an actor outside of the embassy network to cut internet access to Assange's devices while leaving the other devices in the network unaffected?

The ISP could do it in theory with filtering based on traffic patterns. The use of cryptography in the embassy plus where the normal traffic was going would determine how effective it was in terms of just hitting him.

Seems totally unnecessary, considering he could just be handed someone else's laptop, right? I'd imagine it would have to be the entire embassy, or else the network that he has access to in his space.

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#342

Post by haberman »

I'm still processing this information, and holding out to form a full opinion until more details become available/confirmed.

In the meantime, I'm curious, for people who are angry about this: suppose it is actually true that Assange is working together with Russian hackers in an attempt to influence a US election. Do you believe there is any point at which governments should intervene to protect national sovereignty and integrity of the political process?

If WikiLeaks was releasing dirt on both candidates I would feel much differently.

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#343

Post by raesene6 »

jsprogrammer wrote: post #333
raesene6 wrote: post #317

hmm I would suggest there's something more to this than "Internet cut off". There's pretty much no chance you could cut off all connectivity from a building in the heart of london ( https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Embassy+of+Ecuador/@51.4... ) From that location you have Base station's covering all 4 major UK mobile networks and I'd guess a large number of wi-fi hotspots. So to "cut off" internet access, you've g…

Maybe the embassy cut him off? It's not unlikely that a person could be targeted to have communications access disrupted across multiple devices and networks.

Sure the embassy can just lock him in a room with no devices, that's easy . what's not practical is to cut the ecuadorian embassy building off all together

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#344

Post by tzs »

mikeash wrote: post #213
jacquesm wrote: post #127

- Is the whole embassy shut down? - Is there any direct reason for the timing (US elections, attack on Mosul or other current headlines)? - Was there any imminent release? (last week there was an announcement of a leak but it didn't materialize as far as I know) http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/4/13159914/wikileaks-hillary... - You'd assume that Wikileaks the organization will continue to work even without Assange hav…

They can't possibly isolate it to just Assange, so it must be the whole embassy. My money is on this being an errant backhoe or similar, and Assange is just turning it into a big deal because he can.

> They can't possibly isolate it to just Assange, so it must be the whole embassy.

Maybe not specifically to Assange, but they might be able to get close to that. An embassy probably wants to have separate, isolated networks to keep various classes of users apart. The top diplomats and officials who deal with the most important, most secret stuff on one. Another for lower level officials who deal with secret, but more routine stuff. A third that provides wifi for people visiting the embassy to use its services. Maybe a fourth for foreign diplomats attending meetings.

I could see them going beyond just building one physical network and then using firewalls to segment it into separate isolated logical networks and actually having separate physical connections for some of the networks, such as the one for visitors seeking services, and the one for foreign diplomats.

If they do have multiple physical networks, I'd expect they have Assange on one of the ones that is not important to the normal functioning of the embassy, such as one mostly used by people visiting to apply for visas and things like that. A large fraction of such visitors will have cellular internet on their phones and won't even notice that the embassy public wifi is broken.

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#345

Post by jules »

weavie wrote: post #320
jacquesm wrote: post #127

- Is the whole embassy shut down? - Is there any direct reason for the timing (US elections, attack on Mosul or other current headlines)? - Was there any imminent release? (last week there was an announcement of a leak but it didn't materialize as far as I know) http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/4/13159914/wikileaks-hillary... - You'd assume that Wikileaks the organization will continue to work even without Assange hav…

Even if the embassy was shut down surely just a cheap smart phone would rectify the situation and get him back online. Are they somehow blocking mobile signals as well?

Maybe he has been arrested, but all wikileaks know is that he has stopped sending a periodic signal that he is fine.

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#346

Post by grandalf »

DougN7 wrote: post #187

I am getting so damn sick of all of the corruption we're seeing in governments all around the world, including the US/UK. Makes me want to vote for Trump and take the whole crooked system down (unfortunately, that would cause a LOT of pain for good everyday people).

A vote for any third party candidate is a bigger statement, and maximizes your voter power even in a non swing-state.

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#347

Post by dlss »

mikeash wrote: post #329
grandalf wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My money is on this being an errant backhoe or similar, and Assange is just turning it into a big deal because he can. With all the propaganda and accusations going around, please substantiate this.

I have no direct evidence. My bet is based on the simple fact that 1) the claim of access being cut off by a state actor is pretty huge and completely unsubstantiated, and 2) random internet outages are not uncommon.

It looks like you're also assuming: 3) whoever posted to the wikileaks twitter account didn't first consider the more obvious hypotheses.

Which seems like a rather large issue with your theory.

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#348

Post by artursapek »

arkitaip wrote: post #150
jacquesm wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scary timing. So one possible reason this could be is to stop him from rallying the troops.

You actually believe some 4channers when he says he is a intelligence officer? I have a bridge to sell you...

There was another poster this summer who claimed to be an FBI insider. He spilled a lot of info about their corrupt investigation into the Clinton emails. He made a lot of predictions that ended up being true. So I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility; 4chan is a known safe place for anonymity online.

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#349

Post by mikeash »

dlss wrote: post #347
mikeash wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no direct evidence. My bet is based on the simple fact that 1) the claim of access being cut off by a state actor is pretty huge and completely unsubstantiated, and 2) random internet outages are not uncommon.

It looks like you're also assuming: 3) whoever posted to the wikileaks twitter account didn't first consider the more obvious hypotheses. Which seems like a rather large issue with your theory.

Not considering it, or considering it but not believing it. Edit: or considering it, believing it, and deliberately lying.

I see no reason to trust their judgment here. As the kids might say these days, evidence or GTFO.

Re: Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'

#350

Post by joncrocks »

willvarfar wrote: post #177

It suits Assange's narrative to say its a "state actor", just as it suited Yahoo's board to claim "state actors" as they disclosed their latest breach. Assange's ego really dilutes the wikileaks original goals and its no surprise that the actual doers in the organisation upped and left in 2010.

It probably was a kinda-state actor. Openreach :-)
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