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In a 'Plot Twist', Wikileaks Releases Documents It Claims Detail Russia Mass Surveillance Apparatus (techcrunch.com)

Posted by msmash on from the plot-twist dept.

WikiLeaks, believed by many to be a Kremlin front, surprised some observers Tuesday morning (Snowden called it a "plot twist") when it released documents linking a Russian tech company with access to thousands of citizens' telephone and internet communications with Moscow. From a report: Writing a summary of the cache of mostly Russian-language documents, Wikileaks claims they show how a long-established Russian company which supplies software to telcos is also installing infrastructure, under state mandate, that enables Russian state agencies to tap into, search and spy on citizens' digital activity -- suggesting a similar state-funded mass surveillance program to the one utilized by the U.S.'s NSA or by GCHQ in the U.K. (both of which were detailed in the 2013 Snowden disclosures). The documents which Wikileaks has published (there are just 34 "base documents" in this leak) relate to a St. Petersburg-based company, called Peter-Service, which it claims is a contractor for Russian state surveillance. The company was set up in 1992 to provide billing solutions before going on to become a major supplier of software to the mobile telecoms industry.

3 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. Wikileaks docs about Russia in 2015 by arnott · · Score: 4, Informative

    WL had documents about Russia before. Here is an article regarding it.

  2. Too late, Hillary by mi · · Score: 3, Informative

    Let that co-opted weasel dangle.

    In 2010 you both held Mr. Assange in higher regard and pointed out to those, who'd consider him "an ass":

    One must be careful not to dismiss the truth because it's delivered by an "ass".

    But now that your precious Hillary has blamed him, you are not only call him names yourself, but do dismiss the truth he delivers... Or is "ass" materially different from "weasel"?..

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  3. Re: politicians don't recognize integrity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Just to remind/clarify: WikiLeaks just publishes everything they get. That's their stated mission. The politically biased agents are the people that give the information to WikiLeaks, not the organization itself. Assange is not the whole organization or its head, he's just a spokesperson. The organization seems to be structured in a way that it will go on if Assange goes missing.