WikiLeaks supporters change tack

Pro-WikiLeaks activists who have coordinated a series of web attacks in support of Julian Assange say they will change their tactics.

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A new campaign, “Operation Leakspin”, encourages followers to search through WikiLeaks and bring to light cables that have been overlooked.

The change in approach follows the coordinated cyber attacks on companies which have cut ties with WikiLeaks.

The activists known as “Anonymous” now tell supporters to “Post snippets of the leaks everywhere, the aim being to make information so readily available that counter-measures will be practically useless.

Despite some more traditional methods of protest in support of WikiLeaks, it is the attacks from cyberspace the authorities fear most. The UK’s national security adviser has warned that British government websites could be next.

Meanwhile the political fallout from ongoing WikiLeaks disclosures continues.

Brazil’s outgoing President Lula is among those who have defended the website, while there are reports of increased tension between some countries and the US.

WikiLeaks said its servers in a Stockholm bunker contain more unreleased information that could further embarrass governments.

It has distancing itself from the internet attacks.

WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told euronews: “No, we have no links to these groups. These attacks are a reflection of the public outrage towards the companies that have terminated their services towards us. We have not encouraged these attacks.”

Some experts have played down the impact of the attacks. “This is not cyber war, it’s more like a cyber mob,” said one researcher. Meanwhile a study found it would be relatively easy to track down those behind the attacks on companies.

Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of the blogging platform, Wordpress said: “I think retaliatory hacking is usually kind of childish on both sides. The most important thing I see happening is that – whatever the ethics and morality of the leak itself and who knows what that is – but once the information is out there, information wants to be free. And the internet treats censorship as a bug and it routes around it.”

Operation Leakspin calls on followers to search for the “best, least exposed leaks” they can find.

Critics say the disclosures damage diplomacy. But the Anonymous activists vow to continue their campaign for “internet transparency.”

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