WIKI-KEEPER BAILED

While the revelations of corruption, sleaze and abuse of power continue to ooze out of the Wikileaks vault of diplomatic cables, the information war it has provoked continues to rage (see SchNEWS 751).

The Wikileaks site itself has never been more secure. Following the removal of its host servers, more than 1,300 volunteer ‘mirror’ sites have sprung up to foil any attempts to plug the leaks.

Not so secure are those companies and institutions that have turned on Wikileaks; the denial of service attacks launched by hacktivist swarm ‘Anonymous’ continue. Websites taken down this week include senate.gov – the site for every US senator, and the Swedish prosecutors website.
With thousands downloading the software around the world (although it is unclear how much good most amateur hackers can do with it), police have also upped their efforts to crack down on the attacks. Two Dutch teenagers have been arrested while Scotland Yard claims it is also investigating.

Back in the world of three dimensions, Julian Assange has finally been granted bail as extradition proceedings continue, to howls of protest from the Swedes. Protesters gathered outside the court to show their support for the cause celebre.

In a separate action on Monday (13th), a band of Blighty-based Aussies occupied the foyer of Australian embassy to demand the release of Assange. While they constructed a makeshift shrine to the war dead in Afghanistan, an armed response unit was swiftly dispatched to the embassy, followed by three vans of riot porkers, handily already in the area for student protests.