leak

WikiLeaks, Assange feel the heat (roundup)

Whistle-blower site continues to face heavy criticism and repercussions for publishing extensive details of U.S. military and diplomatic activity. Controversial editor Julian Assange, meanwhile, confronts his own challenges in court.

Assange can be extradited to Sweden U.K. judge approves extradition of WikiLeaks founder to Sweden to face questioning over sexual assault and rape allegations. Assange has a week to appeal. • Witness: Assange's version of events needed to be heard • Assange extradition hearing kicks off in London (Posted in Politics and Law by Tom Espiner) February 24, 2011 3:38 AM PT

WikiLeaks hearing set in dispute over Twitter data … Read more

Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden

Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden for interrogation by prosecutors looking into sex crime allegations against the WikiLeaks editor, a U.K. judge has ruled.

At Belmarsh Magistrates Court in London today, chief magistrate Howard Riddle said that defense arguments had not convinced him to deny the Swedish authorities' request to issue a European arrest warrant (EAW) against Assange.

"I must order that Mr. Assange be extradited to Sweden," said Riddle. "Mr. Assange has seven days to appeal the decision."

After the ruling (PDF), Assange's supporters told ZDNet UK that there will be an appeal. … Read more

New MacBook Pro specs leaked?

We've wondered when the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro would finally get a CPU upgrade. Based on leaks, it seems like that time will come soon.

The above image comes from a report from German Web site fscklog.com. It was translated and reposted at MacRumors.com.

Are these the specs for a new 13-inch MacBook Pro? We have no idea, but we hope so. A next-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, Sandy Bridge integrated graphics, and even a new high-speed data transfer port (called Thunderbolt, according to this post, most likely a renamed … Read more

'Leaked' Dell plans date Windows 7, 8 tablets

Dell's recently unveiled Windows 7 tablet could be in the hands of consumers as soon as mid-May, with a follow-up device in January that would run the next version of Windows.

That's according to Android Central, which, along with sister site WP Central, says it has acquired from a tipster rough release plans for Dell's portable devices.

The plans--which include information on a handful of Android devices, including four tablets--also tease a version of Dell's Venue Pro Windows Phone 7 device, which will bring "additional features and enhancements" and arrive in mid-April. That's … Read more

Clinton speech pushes for Internet freedom

With freedom--both in the real world and online--much in the news lately, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech in Washington, D.C., yesterday that cautioned nations that try to block the Internet and other vital services as a way of stifling their citizens.

In her address at George Washington University on Internet freedom, Clinton pointed out that Egypt's efforts to control the protests of its citizens by cutting their lines of communication ultimately failed. Instead, people continued to protest, the government turned the Internet back on, and in the end, former President Hosni Mubarak was forced to … Read more

WikiLeaks hearing set in dispute over Twitter data

A federal judge in Virginia has set a hearing for next week in a high-profile case that will decide whether the U.S. Justice Department can obtain records about the Twitter accounts used by WikiLeaks activists.

The hearing, scheduled for February 15 in Alexandra, Va., is expected to focus on whether the Justice Department has the legal justification for its request for the account details, and whether the almost-entirely-secret court records in this case should be made available for public viewing.

As CNET previously reported, federal prosecutors obtained a court order directing Twitter to turn over information about the accounts … Read more

Anonymous hacks firm trying to investigate it

A security firm investigating the people behind the recent Anonymous cyberattacks on various Web sites has become a victim of the group's exploits.

Information security research firm HBGary Federal, which said that it had been working with the FBI to identify the leaders of Anonymous, saw its Web site hacked and the Twitter account of its CEO, Aaron Barr, compromised yesterday by the group.

"Today we taught everyone a lesson. When we actually decide to bite back against those who try to bring us down, we bite hard," Anonymous tweeted on Barr's hacked Twitter page.

Beyond … Read more

WikiLeaks founder Assange talks to '60 Minutes'

Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, part 1

In an exclusive interview with "60 Minutes" tonight, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange discussed, among other things, his relationship with sources (a crucial legal issue, as the U.S. considers taking court action against Assange), WikiLeaks' vulnerability to government shut down (presumably of concern to Assange, especially since some WikiLeaks supporters have found themselves grappling with various law enforcement agencies), and rumors about an upcoming release of documents embarrassing to Bank of America.

"60 Minutes" offers a transcript of the interview, along with video extras, here, and a behind-the-scenes video here. … Read more

Anonymous: U.K. arrests are 'declaration of war'

The group Anonymous has issued a warning to the U.K. government after five men suspected of having connections to the group were arrested yesterday.

The group, which has claimed responsibility for a series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks launched in support of whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks, said it viewed the arrests as a "declaration of war" by the British authorities.

"Anonymous believes...that pursuing this direction is a sad mistake on your behalf. Not only does it reveal the fact that you do not seem to understand the present-day political and technological reality, we also … Read more