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Julian Assange's Internet Access "Cut" by Ecuador

posted by martyb on Monday October 17 2016, @07:36PM   
from the where's-the-nearest-Starbucks? dept.

captain_nifty writes:

Multiple sources reporting:
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37680411
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/10/17/wikileaks-says-assanges-internet-link-was-severed-by-state-party.html
http://time.com/4532984/wikileaks-julian-assange-theories/

Wikileaks has announced that Julian Assange's internet access had been intentionally severed by a state actor. I would assume this means they disrupted a VPN connection he had rather than just cutting all internet access to the Ecuadorian Embassy, but again details are limited.

The announcement of disruption was also preceded by multiple strange tweets of random numbers (likely crypto keys) that appear to be part of a dead man system activated by the disruption.

takyon: The full tweet states "Julian Assange's internet link has been intentionally severed by a state party. We have activated the appropriate contingency plans." Wikileaks recently released Part 9 of the Podesta Emails. Also at CNET and Ars Technica.

Update: Wikileaks says: "We can confirm Ecuador cut off Assange's internet access Saturday, 5pm GMT, shortly after publication of Clinton's Goldman Sachs speechs."

Perhaps the embassy's perennial guest has finally overstayed his welcome?

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Original Submission   Alternate Submission

• You need to think about this a little more deeply (Score: 3, Insightful) by janrinok on Tuesday October 18 2016, @07:22AM

  by janrinok (52) on Tuesday October 18 2016, @07:22AM (#415572) Journal

  This is current year. Everyone has internet on a mobile phone.

  I don't have a need for a smart phone - so I don't own one. My internet arrives via a fibre optic cable. Don't make assumptions about what other people have or have not.

  Assange is living in the middle of London. There is mobile coverage.

  And the mobile coverage is controlled and monitored by whom? Oh, that's right, possibly the same 'state actor' that has just disrupted his VPN.

  The guy has no excuse not to have multiple burner phones and VPN servers.

  The burner phones are useless once they pinpoint where the phone is - which will not take GCHQ very long. See also my comment about who controls the mobile network. GCHQ will, I suspect, have been monitoring his communications since day 1, and I imagine they have it pretty well covered by now. He might have a billion VPN server accounts, but there are a limited number of connections in to and out of the Embassy. If he cannot connect to his VPN server - which is exactly what is currently happening - then it doesn't really matter how many he might have.

  And I am lowly AC.

  You can wear the AC badge with pride, but that doesn't excuse you from thinking the problem through.

  Parent

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