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Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

wikileaks.org

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Re: Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

#21

Post by AsyncAwait »

mey wrote: post #8
morpheuskafka wrote: post #6

How come WikiLeaks is distributing this? I don't see any meaningful connection to government transparency or even corporate transparency... this has nothing to do with abuse of power, it is completely normal and rightful for a company to keep its infrastructure locations secret. Some of this could be found through public records, etc. and that fine to post, but internal operating procedures are not. Sure, it's fun to…

WikiLeaks may not have the mission statement you think it does.

Insert some bullshit about working with Russia, bla, bla, bla, China, Iran, any country the U.S. doesn't like?

If so, I don't think that's it, as much as the DNC would like to detract from conspiring against Sanders. WikiLeaks does have biases, sure, like Assange not liking Clinton, since she called for his droning, however if you actually read more about WikiLeaks than the surface reports, it is simply that they believe in complete transparency of powerful actors to hold them to account. Amazon currently bids for CIA contracts and runs most of the popular internet, so I guess they'd fit that definition.

Remember, Wikileaks was loved by Democrats in the Bush era and hated by Republicans, now it sort of reversed due to Trump. I presume it will switch again in 2020. I just wish people would be a bit more honest about this.

Re: Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

#22

Post by 394549 »

azinman2 wrote: post #19

I’ve lost all respect for Wikileaks. How about actually leaking documents on day, I dunno, how the Chinese government is trying to brainwash Uighurs and erase their culture and religion? Instead, it’s always the US that’s been the bad guy, and now it’s not even really the government directly. There’s no cultural suppression or a larger public benefit from knowing where amazon data centers are located. What a joke.

> How about actually leaking documents on day, I dunno, how the Chinese government is trying to brainwash Uighurs and erase their culture and religion?

Wikileaks legitimately may not be in a position to acquire such documents to leak. My understanding is that they mainly distribute documents provided to them by others, and has never exercised much editorial discretion. If Wikileaks is best known in the US/Western Europe, it'll likely only acquire documents related to those regions.

For a Chinese person to leak documents about Xinjiang to Wikileaks, that person must first know about them, then be able to contact them, then be able to send the documents to them. I wouldn't be surprised if Wikileaks itself is blocked by the Great Firewall, and that its typical communication channels for leakers are blocked and/or difficult to use from the PRC, which makes the whole process doubtful.

Re: Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

#23

Post by [deleted] »

azinman2 wrote: post #19

I’ve lost all respect for Wikileaks. How about actually leaking documents on day, I dunno, how the Chinese government is trying to brainwash Uighurs and erase their culture and religion? Instead, it’s always the US that’s been the bad guy, and now it’s not even really the government directly. There’s no cultural suppression or a larger public benefit from knowing where amazon data centers are located. What a joke.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

#24

Post by nabla9 »

morpheuskafka wrote: post #6

How come WikiLeaks is distributing this? I don't see any meaningful connection to government transparency or even corporate transparency... this has nothing to do with abuse of power, it is completely normal and rightful for a company to keep its infrastructure locations secret. Some of this could be found through public records, etc. and that fine to post, but internal operating procedures are not. Sure, it's fun to…

Amazon is making local governments to compete against each others for data center locations, so it's in the public interest to know the locations. For example, you can compare at the location, electricity cost, infrastructure, tax schemes and tax revenue etc. in local level and see how important they are for Amazon and maybe even estimate the benefit of having Amazon.

The location of Amazon data centers is not hidden from it's large competitors, or any adversary.

Re: Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

#25

Post by stereo »

mtmail wrote: post #3

The address in Palo Alto is right off University Avenue behind the Walgreens. The one in Luxembourg is an office building as well. I don't see much value unless one wants to destabilize internet infrastructure.

The Luxembourg ones are perfectly well-known data centres.

Re: Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

#26

Post by saalweachter »

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #15
blakesterz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like using ‘Vandalay Industries’ is a terrible idea. Doesn't everyone* know that anything called ‘Vandalay Industries’ is an obvious fake? * Maybe anyone over a certain age? Do people under... I dunno, 40? 30?... watch much Seinfeld? Seems like TV shows are largely generational things... I'm aware of MASH and Dick Van Dyke, but I wouldn't get the semi obscure jokes from those shows since they were on when I was…

I'd guess the goal is more to keep this list from coming up in public records searches than to serve as a truly effective disguise. I can't imagine the datacenter employees are expected to lie to everyone about where they work.

Which reminds me of the article on HN a few months/years back about how you could identify most spies because they all appeared the same way in embassy listings (which was all public information).

With a lot of things like this, you're really squatting at a particular point in the effort-reward curve. You're not going to make something of this scale absolutely secret; there are hundreds of people involved, deliveries of material over years, and ongoing services. It's not like Amazon can bury the workers on site after they finish their work, like people always claim the pharaohs of old did but probably didn't.

But being a little secret might solve some problems, so if there are low-effort ways to make it a little secret, you go ahead and do those. You make a shell company, even if it has a stupid name. You don't tell contractors or delivery people who the real owner is. You don't drive up to the building in a car that says "AMAZON1" on the license plate.

It's not going to keep the place totally secret, but if it makes a few things easier - you get fewer break-ins, you have fewer troubles with the local planning boards, whatever - it's probably worth the tiny bit of effort.

(Also, did you know that Dick Van Dyke is still alive and active? He's in the new Mary Poppins.)

Re: Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

#27

Post by Apfel »

azinman2 wrote: post #19

I’ve lost all respect for Wikileaks. How about actually leaking documents on day, I dunno, how the Chinese government is trying to brainwash Uighurs and erase their culture and religion? Instead, it’s always the US that’s been the bad guy, and now it’s not even really the government directly. There’s no cultural suppression or a larger public benefit from knowing where amazon data centers are located. What a joke.

You're assuming that anyone with these sorts of documents:

1) wants to leak them (most of the Chinese people who I've met in China, especially those who work in a government or military capacity, will bend over backwards to defend China from any level of perceived foreign criticism)

2) has the capability to leak them (most Chinese people are unlikely to know much about Wikileaks)

Re: Amazon Atlas: The “Highly Confidential” locations of Amazon's data centers

#30

Post by cbg0 »

blakesterz wrote: post #11
bogomipz wrote: post #4

>"In some cases, Amazon uses pseudonyms to obscure its presence. For example, at its IAD77 data center, the document states that “Amazon is known as ‘Vandalay Industries’ on badges and all correspondence with building manager”." This made me laugh. Vandalay Industries is a reference to a very funny Seinfeld episode. Someone at AWS has a good sense of humor: http://seinfeld.wikia.com/wiki/Vandelay_Industries

Seems like using ‘Vandalay Industries’ is a terrible idea. Doesn't everyone* know that anything called ‘Vandalay Industries’ is an obvious fake? * Maybe anyone over a certain age? Do people under... I dunno, 40? 30?... watch much Seinfeld? Seems like TV shows are largely generational things... I'm aware of MASH and Dick Van Dyke, but I wouldn't get the semi obscure jokes from those shows since they were on when I was…

> Seems like using ‘Vandalay Industries’ is a terrible idea.

I think it's more of a joke instead of a serious attempt at keeping the ownership hidden.

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