14 DAY TRIAL // In the past period, a number of 25 media outlets worldwide analyzed the gigabytes of data obtained by WikiLeaks from Stratfor, allegedly with the aid of Anonymous hackers. Now WikiLeaks plans on publishing all the data online under the name of
The Global Intelligence Files.
According to a press release from WikiLeaks, the 5 million emails they possess date from 2004 until late December 2011, when the breach that affected the think tank took place.
“They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency,” the document reads.
The files that are about to be leaked reportedly contain information about Stratfor’s informants, structure, payment-laundering techniques, but also some things related to the US government and its attacks against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
“The material shows how a private intelligence agency works, and how they target individuals for their corporate and government clients. For example, Stratfor monitored and analysed the online activities of Bhopal activists, including the ‘Yes Men’, for the US chemical giant Dow Chemical,” WikiLeaks continues.
Since they’re accused of many things, including secret deals with media organizations and journalists from Reuters, Keiv Post and others, Stratfor issued a quick response regarding these claims.
First of all, Stratfor informs subscribers and friends that the data is not part of another breach, instead it's a result of the hacking operation that targeted the company at the end of 2011.
“Some of the emails may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies; some may be authentic. We will not validate either. Nor will we explain the thinking that went into them. Having had our property stolen, we will not be victimized twice by submitting to questioning about them,” Stratfor representatives wrote.
They also let everyone know that they’re not a government-affiliated organization, naming the actions performed by WikiLeaks as a “deplorable breach of privacy.”