Snowden says Assange arrest ‘dark moment for press freedom’

MOSCOW—Fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden on Thursday slammed the arrest in London of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, calling it a "dark moment for press freedom."

Snowden fled to Russia in 2013 after leaking thousands of classified documents to the media about the US government's extensive surveillance activities.

"Images of Ecuador's ambassador inviting the UK's secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of -- like it or not -- award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books," the former contractor with the US National Security Agency said on Twitter.

"Assange's critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom," said the fugitive former US government contractor.

Snowden denounced Ecuador's decision to withdraw asylum from Assange, who had been living in its London embassy since 2012.

He called the decision an "extraordinary and very likely unprecedented revocation of what at least the United Nations considers a legitimate grant of asylum."

Like Snowden, Assange remains a polarizing figure, with some calling him a heroic campaigner for openness, while others accuse him of being an enemy of the US trying to avoid justice.

"I don't have to agree with every part of a man's journalism to believe he shouldn't be arrested for it," Snowden wrote in response to criticism of Assange's methods.

Snowden has largely maintained a low profile in Russia after being given refugee status by the authorities.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Judge issues gag order on Trump advisor Roger Stone

WASHINGTON - An angry US judge issued a gag order on Thursday on Roger Stone after the former advisor to Donald Trump posted a picture of her on Instagram with crosshairs in the background.

Stone, 66, is charged with lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction stemming from his contacts with WikiLeaks, which published Russian-hacked communications from Democrat Hillary Clinton's camp during the 2016 election campaign.

Stone has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which resulted from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether the president's campaign colluded with Russia.

Stone was ordered to appear in court by US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson after he posted the inflammatory picture of her on his Instagram account several days ago.

A caption accompanying the image said Jackson was an "Obama appointed Judge who dismissed the Benghazi charges again(st) Hillary Clinton and incarcerated Paul Manafort prior to his conviction for any crime."

During Thursday's hearing, Stone apologized to the judge for what he called a "stupid lack of judgment" and appeared to blame an unnamed assistant for the offensive Instagram post.

"I am kicking myself for my own stupidity, but not more than my wife is kicking me," he said.

Jackson was having none of it and after saying his apology rings "quite hollow" she ordered him not to communicate publicly about the case anymore.

Jackson told him she was giving him a "second chance" but warned that he would not get another and could face prison time if he violates the gag order.

Stone left court without speaking to reporters.

Jackson had imposed a partial gag order on Stone last week, telling him not to speak to the media or make public statements around the courthouse or in its immediate vicinity.

Stone's court appearances have been rowdy affairs featuring supporters and opponents and a large media contingent.

Stone pleaded not guilty in federal court in Washington last month to the seven charges against him. He is the sixth campaign associate of Trump indicted by Mueller's team.

Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a "political witch hunt."

Stone, who launched his career as a campaign aide to Richard Nixon and has a tattoo on his back of the first US president to resign from office, has spent decades advising Republican political campaigns.

His association with Trump dates back to 1979, and he was one of the first to enlist when the billionaire real estate magnate launched his run for the presidency in 2015.

Stone left the campaign months later but the indictment shows he remained in active communication with Trump's team, providing support and information.

Mueller's office has indicted a total of 34 people -- including Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager -- but so far, no charges of outright collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow have been filed.

cl/ia

source: news.abs-cbn.com

WikiLeaks offers CIA hacking tools to tech companies: Assange

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO - Wikileaks will provide technology companies with exclusive access to CIA hacking tools that it possesses so they can patch software flaws, founder Julian Assange said on Thursday, presenting Silicon Valley with a potential dilemma on how to deal with the anti-secrecy group.

If the offer is legitimate, it would place technology companies in the unusual position of relying on Assange, a man believed by some US officials and lawmakers to be an untrustworthy pawn of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to share cyber vulnerabilities stockpiled by a secretive US spy agency.

It was not clear how WikiLeaks intended to cooperate with the companies. The group published documents on Tuesday describing secret Central Intelligence Agency hacking tools and snippets of computer code. It did not publish the full programs that would be needed to actually conduct cyber exploits against phones, computers and Internet-connected televisions.

"Considering what we think is the best way to proceed and hearing these calls from some of the manufacturers, we have decided to work with them to give them some exclusive access to the additional technical details that we have so that the fixes can be developed and pushed out, so people can be secure," Assange said during an online press conference from the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

Assange took refuge at the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape, which he denies.

Microsoft Corp and Cisco Systems Inc, whose wares are subject to attacks described in the documents, said in response to Assange that they welcomed submissions of any vulnerabilities through normal reporting channels.

"We've seen Julian Assange's statement and have not yet been contacted," a Microsoft representative said. "Our preferred method for anyone with knowledge of security issues, including the CIA or Wikileaks, is to submit details to us at secure@microsoft.com so we can review information and take any necessary steps to protect customers."

Representatives of Alphabet Inc's Google, Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Huawei, whose products were also featured in the CIA catalog, did not answer requests for comment.

Responding to Assange, CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu, said in a statement: "As we’ve said previously, Julian Assange is not exactly a bastion of truth and integrity."

"Despite the efforts of Assange and his ilk, CIA continues to aggressively collect foreign intelligence overseas to protect America from terrorists, hostile nation states and other adversaries."

WikiLeaks' disclosures this week caused alarmed in the technology world and among consumers because of the potential privacy implications of the cyber espionage tactics that were described.

One file described a program known as Weeping Angel that purportedly could take over a Samsung smart television, making it appear it was off when in fact it was recording conversations in the room.

Other documents described ways to hack into Apple iPhones, devices running Google's Android software and other gadgets in a way that could observe communications before they are protected by end-to-end encryption offered by messaging apps like Signal or WhatsApp.

Several companies have already said they are confident that their recent security updates have accounted for the purported flaws described in the CIA documents. Apple said in a statement on Tuesday that "many of the issues" leaked had already been patched in the latest version of its operating system.

WikiLeaks' publication of the documents reignited a debate about whether U.S. intelligence agencies should hoard serious cyber security vulnerabilities rather than share them with the public. An interagency process created under former President Barack Obama called for erring on the side of disclosure.

CIA SECURITY

President Donald Trump believes changes are needed to safeguard secrets at the CIA, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told a news briefing on Thursday. "He believes that the systems at the CIA are outdated and need to be updated."

Two US intelligence and law enforcement officials told Reuters on Wednesday that intelligence agencies have been aware since the end of last year of a breach at the CIA, which led to WikiLeaks releasing thousands of pages of information on its website.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said contractors likely breached security and handed over the documents to WikiLeaks. The CIA has declined to comment on the authenticity of the documents leaked, but the officials said they believed the pages about hacking techniques used between 2013 and 2016 were authentic.

Contractors have been revealed as the source of sensitive government information leaks in recent years, most notably Edward Snowden and Harold Martin, both employed by consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton while working for the National Security Agency.

Assange said he possessed "a lot more information" about the CIA's cyber arsenal that would be released soon. He criticized the CIA for "devastating incompetence" for not being able to control access to such sensitive material, and asked whether Obama or Trump were made aware of the breaches.

Assange's group released Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential campaign that US intelligence agencies say were hacked by Russia to try to tilt the election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. He is regarded with distaste by many in Washington, although Trump, then the Republican candidate, supported the group's email releases last year.

Ben Sasse, a Republican senator, said in a statement on Thursday that Assange should "spend the rest of his life wearing an orange jumpsuit." He is "an enemy of the American people and an ally to Vladimir Putin" who has "has dedicated his life’s work to endangering innocent lives, abetting despots, and stoking a crisis of confidence in the West," Sasse said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

CIA blasts WikiLeaks for publishing secret documents

The Central Intelligence Agency on Wednesday accused WikiLeaks of endangering Americans, helping US rivals and hampering the fight against terror threats by releasing what the anti-secrecy site claimed was a trove of CIA hacking tools.

A CIA spokeswoman would not confirm the authenticity of the materials published by WikiLeaks, which said they were leaked from the spy agency's hacking operations.

Nevertheless, said spokeswoman Heather Fritz Horniak, "The American public should be deeply troubled by any WikiLeaks disclosure designed to damage the intelligence community's ability to protect America against terrorists and other adversaries."

"Such disclosures not only jeopardize US personnel and operations, but also equip our adversaries with tools and information to do us harm," she said.

Horniak defended the CIA's cyber operations, which the WikiLeaks materials showed focused heavily on breaking into personal electronics using a wide range of malware systems.

"It is CIA's job to be innovative, cutting-edge, and the first line of defense in protecting this country from enemies abroad," she said.

- Massive leak -

On Tuesday, WikiLeaks published nearly 9,000 documents it said were part of a huge trove leaked from the CIA, describing it as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence materials.

"This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA," it said.

The documents showed that CIA hackers can turn a TV into a listening device, bypass popular encryption apps, and possibly control one's car.

Most experts believe the materials to be genuine, and US media said Wednesday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is opening a criminal probe into the leak.

The source of the materials remained unclear. The investigation could focus on whether the CIA was sloppy in its controls, or, as The Washington Post reported, it could be "a major mole hunt" for a malicious leaker or turncoat inside the agency.

WikiLeaks itself said the documents, hacking tools and code came from an archive that had circulated among US government hackers and private contractors.

An investigation would come as the CIA is already enmeshed in a politically-charged probe into Russia's alleged interference in the US election last year in support of President Donald Trump's campaign.

WikiLeaks, which has stunned the US government with a series of publications of top secret political, diplomatic and intelligence materials, said the publication Tuesday was only the first of a series of releases of CIA hacking materials.

That raised concerns that the site could release the actual hacking tools it obtained along with the documents. Experts worry those could fall into the hands of anyone, including US enemies and criminals.

 - Tech sector scrambles for fixes -

The WikiLeaks documents detailed the CIA's practice of exploiting vulnerabilities in hardware and software, without ever informing producers of them.

The CIA allegedly found ways to hack into personal electronics from leading companies like Apple and Samsung, Android phones, popular Microsoft software, and crucial routers from major manufacturers.

The documents suggest it can also infiltrate smartphones in a way that allows it to get around popular messaging encryption apps.

The tech sector was scrambling to understand how their products were at risk.

"While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities," Apple said in an emailed statement.

"We're confident that security updates and protections in both Chrome and Android already shield users from many of these alleged vulnerabilities," Google director of information security and privacy Heather Adkins said in a released statement.

"Our analysis is ongoing and we will implement any further necessary protections."

Samsung and Microsoft both said they were "looking into" what WikiLeaks revealed.

 - Encryption apps safe-

Joseph Hall, a technologist with the Center for Democracy and Technology, a digital rights organization, said the documents raise questions about the US government's pledge last year to disclose vulnerabilities to technology firms.

That pledge means "security flaws should get back to the companies so they can get fixed, and not languish for years," he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union commented in a tweet: "When the govt finds software security holes, it should help fix them, not hoard them and leave everyone vulnerable."

Companies that make encryption programs and apps targeted by the CIA said the revelations show the agency has not been able to break their software.

Open Whisper Systems, which developed the technology for the Signal encryption app, said the CIA documents showed that Signal works.

"None of the exploits are in Signal or break Signal Protocol encryption," the group said in a tweet.

"The existence of these hacking tools is a testimonial to the strength of the encryption," said Steve Bellovin, a Columbia University computer science researcher, in a blog post.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

WikiLeaks' Assange faces questioning by prosecutors

LONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces questioning by prosecutors Monday at the Ecuadoran embassy in London in a twist in the long-running legal battle over a rape allegation against him.

An Ecuadoran prosecutor will quiz the founder of the secret-spilling website at the red-brick building where he has been holed up for more than four years, with Swedish prosecutor Ingrid Isgren and a Swedish police inspector also attending, officials said.

The 45-year-old Australian sought refuge in the central London embassy in June 2012 after Swedish prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant against him, over allegations of rape and sexual assault filed by two women who met Assange during a 2010 trip to Sweden.

He denied the claims, saying they were politically motivated, and insisting his sexual encounters with the two women were consensual.

He has refused to travel to Sweden for questioning, fearing he would be extradited to the United States over WikiLeaks' release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Swedish prosecutors dropped the sexual assault probe last year after the five-year statute of limitations expired.

But they still want to question him about the 2010 rape allegation, which carries a 10-year statute of limitations.

A Swedish official source said the questioning was expected to begin at around 1000 GMT. The investigators intend to take a DNA sample, subject to his agreement.

"It's planned to last a few days," Assange's lawyer Per Samuelsson told AFP, adding that it was too early to say what might arise from the meeting or what would be made public.

It will be the first time he has been interviewed over the matter since initial questioning by Swedish police at the time of the allegation.

Assange, speaking through his lawyer, has said he welcomes the "chance to clear his name" and hopes the investigation will subsequently close.

In May, a Swedish court reaffirmed the arrest order, rejecting the finding of a UN working group that his confinement in the Ecuadoran embassy amounted to arbitrary detention.

PETITION FOR TRUMP 'PARDON'

In the days since the US election, supporters have launched a petition calling on president-elect Donald Trump to pardon Assange by "absolving him of any crimes alleged against him" -- an apparent reference to the military leaks.

The petition on the change.org website, which has gathered more than 16,500 signatures, hails Assange as a "hero" for exposing the "corruption of those who presume to rule us".

Meanwhile Assange's lawyer said he had made "repeated requests" for an interview with police to address the rape claim, though Ecuadoran prosecutors say a hearing scheduled for October was postponed at the Australian's request.

"Julian Assange has always wanted to tell his version to the Swedish police. He wants a chance to clear his name," Samuelsson told AFP.

The legal grilling comes after WikiLeaks returned to the spotlight with the leak of tens of thousands of emails from the US Democratic Party and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign in the final weeks of the race for the White House.

Assange defended the publication, denying links with Russia and claims that his website was trying to influence the US vote which saw Republican Trump elected.

Tensions with his Ecuadoran hosts have been growing, with the leaks prompting the embassy to cut Assange's internet access, citing respect for "non-intervention" in the affairs of other states and their electoral processes.

WikiLeaks released medical records in September claiming Assange's mental health was at risk if he remained any longer in the embassy.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

CIA condemns 'malicious' hack of director's personal email

WASHINGTON - The CIA on Wednesday condemned the hacking of director John Brennan's personal email account, describing it as a crime and saying so far there was "no indication" that any classified information was released.

"The hacking of the Brennan family account is a crime and the Brennan family is the victim," the Central Intelligence Agency said after anti-secrecy campaign group WikiLeaks published documents it said had come from the account.

"The private electronic holdings of the Brennan family were plundered with malicious intent and are now being distributed across the web," it said.

"This attack is something that could happen to anyone and should be condemned, not promoted. There is no indication that any of the documents released thus far are classified."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Omega 12' behind Marcos' martial law - US envoy

MANILA - Twelve military officers personally handpicked by then President Ferdinand Marcos implemented Martial Law during his regime, according to a declassified diplomatic cable published online by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.

And contrary to a popular urban legend, Marcos gave them Omega watches, not Rolexes, said then US Ambassador to Manila William Sullivan in a December 24, 1974 confidential memo to the US State Department.



Cable 1974MANILA15083_b, which was earlier released in the public domain by the US National Archives, identified the "Omega 12". They were:

    Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile,
    Philippine Constabulary chief Maj. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos,
    National Intelligence Security Authority chief Maj. Gen. Fabian Ver,
    Lt. Col. Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr.
    Army chief Maj. Gen. Rafael Zagala,
    Constabulary vice-chief Brig Gen. Tomas Diaz,
    Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Espino,
    Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Jose Rancudo,
    Navy chief Rear Admiral Hilario Ruiz,
    ISAFP chief Brig. Gen. Ignacio Paz,
    Metrocom chief Brig Gen. Alfredo Montoya, and
    Rizal province Constabulary head Col. Romeo Gatan.

Sullivan said Marcos gifted the 12 with personally inscribed Omega watches during a private ceremony in Malacañang in 1973.

The 12 apparently took pride in the gold watches.

"The twelve had previously been rewarded and identified individually in private during September  1973 Malacañang ceremonies when Marcos presented each of them with a personally inscribed gold watch leading them subsequently to title themselves 'The Omega Band,'" the US ambassador's memo said.

Without specifically naming them, Marcos cited the "Omega 12" during his 1973 address to the Armed Forces.

A year later, Marcos publicly acknowleged their primary contributions to martial law.

"Marcos re-emphasized his need for military in awarding medals to stalwart twelve who he said planned martial law," Sullivan said, referring to the dictator's address to the Armed Forces in December 21, 1974.

"Marcos chose to decorate the twelve men of defense establishment whom he described as instrumental in deciding and implementing martial law," he added.

It marked the first time that Marcos publicly singled out and thanked the members of the "Omega 12" were their role during the dictatorship.

"There is no question now that their fortunes are even more tightly tied to those of the New Society," Sullivan said.

During the ceremonies, Marcos' wife Imelda was also given a special military award "signed by her least favorite Cabinet member, Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile, for her outstanding contributions to the New Society," the US envoy wrote.

Enrile and Ramos later launched an uprising against Marcos that led to the EDSA People Power revolution and the removal of the strongman from power.

Ramos would become Philippine president, beating fellow "Omega 12" member Cojuangco in the 1992 elections. Enrile would become Senate president.

Cojuangco, a cousin of former President Cory Aquino and uncle of current President Benigno Aquino III, would focus on business aside from politics. He is current chairman of San Miguel Corp.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Marcoses bared in new WikiLeaks files

MANILA - The ostentatious display of wealth by former President Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos during the late strongman's rule in the 1970s left US embassy officials disgusted, according to newly published diplomatic cables released by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.


During a birthday, for example, Marcos had a "two-day blast carefully orchestrated by his wife Imelda" even if "officially controlled Manila press reported that president Marcos spent a quiet birthday at his desk," according to US embassy cable "1973MANILA10390_b" dated 1973 September 12, 1973.


The celebrations, attended by senior government and military officials, as well as by chiefs of diplomatic missions, eclipsed the funeral services of the late Rufino Cardinal Santos, which happened at the same time.

A parade, dinner, concert, floor show, and other events were held during Marcos' 2-day birthday celebration.

It was too much to bear for then US Ambassador to Manila William H. Sullivan.

Sullivan, in his confidential memo to the US Department of State, said the celebration was "too much, too long, and in questionable taste."

He said all top-ranking military officers, except for then Philippine Constabulary Chief Fidel V. Ramos, were required to "parade in garish female attire" during a floor show amid the festivities.

"This caused much grumbling among military hierarchy, and wives of service chiefs stood conspicuously in a grim, un-smiling phalanx throughout the hilarity," Sullivan said.

"This whole affair was a saccharine suffusion of sycophancy which reminded me unhappily of the heydays of Sukarno and Sihanouk," he added.

"Although Imelda was responsible, the president seemed to enjoy it and appeared unaware of the negative vibrations among his courtiers, especially the senior military, upon whom so much of his future programs will depend," he said.

"Only the Marcos children, to their credit, appeared embarrassed by the display," Sullivan said.

Around 16,000 memos of the US embassy in Manila from 1973 to 1976 are included in the around 1.7-million "Kissinger Files" cables published by WikiLeaks.

Some of the early memos discuss the Philippines' Sabah claim, the Moro unrest in Mindanao, as well as the Spratlys.

WikiLeaks, in an explanatory note, said the memos cover a variety of diplomatic traffic including cables, intelligence reports and congressional correspondence.

"They include more than 320,000 originally classified records, including 286,000 full US diplomatic cables. There are more than 12,000 documents with the sensitive handling restriction "NODIS", 'no distribution', and more than 9,000 labelled "Eyes Only". Full cables originally classed as "SECRET" total more than 61,000 and "CONFIDENTIAL" more than 250,000," it added.

It said the records were reviewed by the United States Department of State's 25-year declassification process.

"At review, the records were assessed and either declassified or kept classified with some or all of the metadata records declassified. Both sets of records were then subject to an additional review by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Once believed to be releasable, they were placed as individual PDFs at the National Archives as part of their Central Foreign Policy Files collection," Wikileaks said.

"Despite the review process supposedly assessing documents after 25 years there are no diplomatic records later than 1976. The formal declassification and review process of these extremely valuable historical documents is therefore currently running 12 years late," it added.

WikiLeaks said it obtained and reverse-engineered 1.7 million PDFs. It also performed a detailed analysis of the documents, "and corrected a great many errors introduced by NARA, the State Department or its diplomats, for example harmonizing the many different ways in which departments, capitals and people's names were spelled."

"Tens of thousands of documents were irreversibly corrupted in this data set due to technical errors when the documents were moved as computer systems were upgraded, or so the US Department of State claims. This caused the content of the document to be lost, though the metadata is still available," it said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com