WikiLeaks' war of words (CNET News week in review)

The war of words over WikiLeaks' release of classified military documents is heating up, and some are calling for a full-scale assault on the site.

WikiLeaks defied a series of increasingly stern warnings from the U.S. military and other government officials and released a massive trove of secret documents from the Iraq war last week. Portions of the U.S. military reports, totaling nearly 400,000 classified documents, were leaked to the Internet, including Web sites of some news organizations that had been handed the documents in advance.

The Defense Department had prepared in advance in case the Iraq files were to leak--really, to flood--onto the Internet. A task force has been sorting through the files that were considered most likely to have been leaked and trying to evaluate whether any disclosures would imperil current military operations.

In response, a Republican senator has proposed rewriting the Espionage Act to target WikiLeaks. Sen. John Ensign of Nevada announced a bill that would make it illegal to identify informants working with the U.S. military, which WikiLeaks did earlier this year when releasing files from the war in Afghanistan.

This has all led to a twist that would have been inconceivable even a few months ago: the WikiLeaks.org Web site is being proposed as the first public target for a U.S. government cyberattack. One Washington newspaper argued that WikiLeaks' offshore Web site should be attacked and rendered "inoperable" by the U.S. government. A State Department adviser under President George W. Bush wrote a column calling on the U.S. military to "electronically assault WikiLeaks and any telecommunications company offering its services to this organization."

Their target's actually not that far away. WikiLeaks' Web site is now hosted on Amazon.com servers on United States soil near San Jose, Calif.
•  Amid criticism, WikiLeaks shifts focus

More headlines

Judge slaps Lime Wire with permanent injunction

U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood orders LimeWire to disable downloading and uploading and otherwise quit being LimeWire.
•  Did Lime Wire betray users?

FTC won't fine in Google Street View Wi-Fi probe

Google won't be fined by the Federal Trade Commission over its accidental Street View collection of Wi-Fi data fragments.
•  New privacy czar might have Google's hardest job

FCC crunches numbers on spectrum crisis

The wireless industry is working to make devices and network gear more efficient, but that simply won't be enough to keep up with growth, says FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
•  FCC settles with Verizon over mystery charges

White iPhone 4 delayed until spring

After two delays, Apple now says the white iPhone 4 won't arrive until spring 2011.

Barnes & Noble unveils Nook Color

The bookseller has officially introduced the Nook Color, a $249 Android-based color e-reader with a 7-inch screen that will ship on November 19. CNET has the full details.
•  Borders drops price of non-Wi-Fi Kobo to $99.99
•  Amazon: Kindle sales already surpass 2009 holiday sales
•  Kindle app for Windows Phone 7 coming soon

Amazon wins fight to keep customer records private

Federal judge slaps down demand from North Carolina tax collectors but hints that a narrower approach may comply with the First Amendment.

Microsoft updates Internet Explorer 9 test version

At a developers conference in Redmond, the software maker also touts coming improvements to Windows Azure as well as momentum for Windows Phone.
•  Windows 7 SP1 Release Candidate launches

Spotify closing in on label deals

Having promised to launch by year's end and with two blown deadlines behind it, the European streaming music service has never been closer to working out licensing issues.
•  Spotify says no acquisition talks with Apple
•  Stats don't support hype: Digital music is ailing

Beleaguered Digg announces more layoffs

After its launch of the "Version 4" redesign proved disastrous, Digg has laid off about 37 percent of its staffers and promises to refocus on product and profitability.

Ellison challenges HP's new CEO to testify

Oracle's CEO says he has proof Leo Apotheker oversaw scheme to steal his company's software and challenges HP to make him available as a trial witness.
•  Oracle: Google directly copied Java code

Also of note
•  Phone-toting time traveler in Chaplin movie?
•  Goodbye Walkman, thanks for the iPod
•  Firefox 4 release slips to 2011