Andy Greenberg: "This Machine Kills Secrets: How Wikileakers, Cypherpunks, and Hacktivists Aim To Free The World's Information"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-09-17/andy-greenberg-machine-kills-secrets-how-wikileakers-cypherpunks-and-hacktivists-ai
Forty years ago military analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked classified Vietnam War documents known as the Pentagon Papers. Ellsberg had come to believe the U.S. was fighting a wrongful war and hoped the Pentagon Papers would help end it. Today when we think of secret documents and whistleblowers, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks come to mind. A new book traces the decades between the Pentagon Papers and WikiLeaks. The author explains how advances in cryptographic technology have helped create a new generation of digital activists and how politically motivated hackers are reshaping concepts about power and secrecy.
Guests
Andy Greenberg
Forbes staff writer focusing on technology, information security and digital civil liberties.
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Read An Excerpt
Excerpt from "This Machine Kills Secrets: How Wikileakers, Cypherpunks, and Hacktivists Aim To Free The World's Information" by Andy Greenberg. Copyright 2012 by Andy Greenberg. Reprinted here by permission of Dutton Adult. All rights reserved.
Comments
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"The truth shall set you free". I don`t much care where the truth comes from these days,especially since the Lame Stream media abdicates it duty to truthfully inform the people.Imagine 10`s of millions of Americans still believe the lie that Saddam Hussein was behind the 9/11 attacks.
We`ve seen a former White House shred the hard drives,and make the simplest info "CLASSISIED",just to cover up their corruption.
The "Whistleblower" who outed all the billionaires money hidden in UBS Swiss banks goes to jail.While the tax evaders still EVADE !!!
Wikileaks exposed some of the abuses committed by U.S. soldiers in Baghdad. But the MSM exposed less than ever before about abuses taking place in Iraq by the U.S. soldiers and contractors. You could go out on the streets right outside the Rehm studios ask people walking around how many people have been killed, injured and displaced in Iraq and most of them would not have a clue. So at a time where Wikileaks etc can expose some of the abuses in minutes. Our MSM has become more complicit than ever
Please discuss how Daniel Ellsberg completely supports what Bradley Manning did and wishes more government and military employees would follow suit.
Explain why more Americans were aware of what was going on in Vietnam compared to how many Americans know about what really has taken place in Iraq. Explain that in this era of Wikileaks whistle blowing
Daniel Ellsberg had the NYT's, and all of the other MSM newspapers co-operating with his agenda. Those are some powerful forces to have on your side. Manning does not have that kind of support
The Whistleblower Support Fund has the biggest International Whistleblower Archive (IWA) available today. Please visit www.whistleblowing.us and view the Archive which is partnered with the Internet Archive.
I have worked with whistleblowers for over 35 years and this is the first time in history that we have an archive of cases. Jack Anderson was the beginning journalists who started to release information in the last century. Remember Wikileaks gave their information to large newspapers, the New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and these organization published the results. This is a freedom of the press issue and should be supported by governments so that their citizens know the truth not the coverup information that these governments attempt to block the truth.
I have read that B. Manning tried several times to talk with his
supervising officers and showed them the evidence for
persecution of civilians, murders, war crimes, and they told
him to ignore what he had read, and to "carry on". After
this immoral response, he started looking into leaking the
information. He deserves to be freed and discharged.
A U.S. citizen who values the whistleblowers who allow us
to see through the lies and deceptions.
Private Manning is not a whistleblower. He stole classified documents and made them public. He did not uncover any massive cover-up, as the Pentagon Papers did. He took something that he was not authorized to take, let alone make public, and he should be punished for that. Wikileaks, Anonymous and their ilk aren't journalists, they're lazy theives with the sole purpose of causing chaos.
The guest speaker is incorrect. Those in the military are NEVER asked to "follow orders". They are asked to "follow LAWFUL orders".
They are expected to NOT follow illegal orders. Times have changed, your guest is mentally working off out-dated information.
I believe that Mr Greenberg's comparison to leaking of classified information to that of disobeying an illegal order is irresponsible. Regardless of what Bradley Manning thought, he took an oath, he agreed not to disclose information, and he violated both. He sacrificed his integrity, he violated his word, and he broke the law.
If you truly believe that your integrity is worth the sensationalist value/attention you'll get, no government needs your service.
Leaking classified info is NOT the same as whistleblowing. Bradley Manning didn't "produce" the documents, or witness the events he leaked to wikileaks. If he really wanted to stop the illegal acts referred to in previous comments, he had both a method (Chain of Command or Inspector General) and an opportunity to bring attention to these acts without sacrificing security of Soldiers in COMBAT at that time.
I'm disappointed that The Diane Rehm Show didn't offer a counterpoint to such a constroversial topic. I expected more journalistic objectivitiy.
Contrary to Andy Greenburg’s claim, if you leak documents you will get caught. The classic way to catch leakers is to have slightly different versions of secret information, differing in only a single or double space.
There are 25 ways to catch leakers, or criminals in general, and if you can think of 15 of them you are a genius. You, Greenburg or Assange are not a genius although most, Wikileak fans may be delusional thinking they are smarter than the rest of us.
Wikileaks does NOT know who sends them information, so they don't know if they are outside, criminal, hackers or consciences leakers.
A conscientious leaker is NOT the same as someone opposed to all secrecy. If you are against all secrecy, then if you are a normal (not crazy) democratic person, you change the laws; you don't break the laws you don't like because you are smarter than the rest of us. Just like if you are a normal person, and some “liar” accuses you of rape, you go to court, not South America.
I second your disappointment that the Diane Rehm Show was so one-sided today, but I and most people even those in the military would argue that there are limited situations such as exposing official crimes, that don't apply in this case, when leaking limited classified information may be ethical. It's not as black and white as you or the opposite Wikileak supporters argue.
I think most people in the miliarty would agree that it would be nice if a few more soldiers in the Third Reich leaks information about the final solution. Likewise, I would hope that even the nuts in Wikileaks would agree that it would not be good to publish the Allied invasion plans.
For some reason, the nuts in Wikileaks think the USA has some similarity to the Third Reich, which is fortunately false for them since if the USA was really like the Thrid Reich, they would be dead or in some concentration camp.
Commentator missed one important person: Sibel Edmonds. See her new book, "Classified Woman," about her battle with the FBI and the liberation of truth.
I'm late to listening to this broadcast as a podcast. Susan Page claimed that the alleged Manning leaks had catastrophic consequences. This is a myth. There were no foreign CIA sources who were hurt by this as even Leon Panetta admitted when he was Dir of the CIA. And many argue that these diplomatic cables fueled the Arab spring. I wish she had given specific examples of her claim.
http://www.wilsonquarterly.com/article.cfm?AID=1964
http://www.salon.com/2011/09/10/wikileaks_29/