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CIA Releases 321GB of Bin Laden's Digital Library (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Today, the Central Intelligence Agency posted a cache of files obtained from Osama Bin Laden's personal computer and other devices recovered from his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan by Navy SEALs during the raid in which he was killed on May 2, 2011. The 470,000 files, 321 gigabytes in all, include documents, images, videos, and audio recordings, including Al Qaeda propaganda and planning documents, home videos of Bin Laden's son Hazma, and "drafts" of propaganda videos. There is also a lot of digital junk among the files.
The CIA site presents a raft of warnings about the content of the downloads: "The material in this file collection may contain content that is offensive and/or emotionally disturbing. This material may not be suitable for all ages. Please view it with discretion. Prior to accessing this file collection, please understand that this material was seized from a terrorist organization. While the files underwent interagency review, there is no absolute guarantee that all malware has been removed."
The CIA site presents a raft of warnings about the content of the downloads: "The material in this file collection may contain content that is offensive and/or emotionally disturbing. This material may not be suitable for all ages. Please view it with discretion. Prior to accessing this file collection, please understand that this material was seized from a terrorist organization. While the files underwent interagency review, there is no absolute guarantee that all malware has been removed."
So their idea is to re-post propaganda videos? I thought their stated job was to help combat terrorism (when they aren't busy creating their own elsewhere).
So are those files just binaries or libraries?
PS:
Seems like the right amount for Android project.
...accumulate more data than me. Geez, he needed to get out of his mom's basement, what a loser.
... his porn stash?
In an effort to further enhance public understanding of al-Qa'ida, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on 1 November 2017 released additional materials recovered in the 2 May 2011 raid on Usama Bin Ladin's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
With the release of these materials, the information remaining in the collection that has not been released publicly includes materials that are protected by copyright; sensitive such that their release would directly damage efforts to keep the nation secure; pornography; malware; and blank, corrupted, and duplicate files. The entire collection has been available to the US Intelligence Community and Department of Defense organizations for years.
The Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) previously released documents from the collection on 20 May 2015, 1 March 2016, and 19 January 2017 after an interagency review spearheaded by the CIA. The releases align with ODNI initiatives for increased transparency - consistent with national security prerogatives - and the 2014 Intelligence Authorization Act, which required the ODNI to conduct a review of the documents for release.
CIA's 1 November 2017 release includes additional al-Qa'ida letters, videos, audio files, and communications, as well as routine family correspondence. As a result, it builds on the ODNI releases that provided material relevant to understanding the plans and workings of terrorist organizations. The material is posted in the original Arabic and in as close to the original form as possible, modified only so the files cannot be edited.
. . .there is no absolute guarantee that all malware has been removed.
Sure. But I wouldn't be surprised if malware were added.
Is this common? I wasn't aware this kind of thing was done. I don't have any problem with it, but it just seems like a weird thing to do.
"Allah my lord, what will my legacy be for the world?"
"Your harddisk has replaced kittens on encyclopedia dramatica."
Have they ever done this before? Why would they do this? Who needs to see this anyway? The only reason I can think of is they planted their own malware and will be tracking everyone and anyone who even so much as accesses that website.
I mean, it is not obvious that hosting this on a CIA website is a means to track, collect, and monitor all IP addresses that potentially attempt to download this data? It must have been a hot topic of discussion at the CIA, to weigh the pro's and con's of releasing such a large amount of data to the public that might potentially be used by those that are actually terrorists in order to inspire or recruit into that ideology. If they went through the troubles of dumping his body into the sea, why would they want to archive and submit a neat little package to the world of who and what this leader was? I just don't know if that was the right decision by the CIA. Unless, of course, the hint at "malware" inside the package is something that is directly related to the CIA and will help them in the future..
So will the the old files on how he was trained by and working for the CIA be included?
What about those regarding how he was merely Hamid Gul's PR guy?
(Hamid Gul ex-head of the Pakistani military intelligence, who oversaw the construction of the Pakistani nukes, and was so crazy, that the Al Qaeda detained him, because he wanted to fly planed with nuclear warheads over to the US. And he’s the guy, who can be seen in many photos, cheerfully sitting next to CIA officers wearing a turban, drinking tea like they're best friends. Probably because the money that the US gave Pakistan to "fight the terrorists" went straight to him and his pals in the northern Pakistani terrorist training camps. And probably because, after the US found out about it, they did it a second time.)
Don't worry, they have your IP address which is all they were after.
There is also a lot of digital junk among the files.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
what nasty thing they're doing that this is supposed to distract us from? I will never believe that our CIA does anything out of the goodness of their heart. If I saw one of them reach down to pet a puppy I'd have it checked by a bomb squad.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
... to get your beacon and match it up to their database.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Is this a standard practice (that's only getting noted because OBL)? Is it so widely distributed internally and to other agencies that they figure it will leak out regardless, so they might as well do it on their terms? Or do they think this has legitimate value for researchers and counter-terrorism researchers?
I stole this Sig
Just like how unredacted and complete records from the Kennedy assassination investigation can still be considered a threat to national security, I suspect that 'public understanding' may have an entirely different meaning.
No, it was Iraq that was working with Al Queda. Remember Operation Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom? "Mission accomplished" and all that. You must not read the newspapers.
"With the release of these materials, the information remaining in the collection that has not been released publicly includes materials that are protected by copyright; sensitive such that their release would directly damage efforts to keep the nation secure; pornography; malware; and blank, corrupted, and duplicate files. The entire collection has been available to the US Intelligence Community and Department of Defense organizations for years."
In other words, the intelligence community is hording Bin Laden's porn.
Yeah, I wanna visit the super spy agency's site. Oh wait, they already know me. I am tquasar.
Kinda crazy to sign off on allowing Iran to get nukes and pay them a few hundred billion dollars when the Iranian regime is working closely with al Qaeda, isn't it?
Those lies never get old, do they? As part of the deal, Iran stopped working on their nuclear program, and allowed extensive verification of this. How can you possibly spin this into 'allowing Iran to get nukes'? The money was not a payment, it was Iranian money that was frozen as part of the sanctions against Iran. Big difference.
And to trot out an old quote: You don't make peace with your friends. You make peace with your enemies.
Kinda crazy to sign off on allowing Iran to get nukes and pay them a few hundred billion dollars when the Iranian regime is working closely with al Qaeda, isn't it?
Except he didn't "sign off on allowing Iran to get nukes", nor did he pay them hundreds of billions of dollars. The Iran deal bars Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And the "payments" you refer to were millions, not billions, and were Iran's money to begin with, we had frozen those assets in 1979 and had never returned it, until ordered by international courts to do so, which coincidentally was about the same time as the nuclear deal.
"there is no absolute guarantee that all malware has been removed"
You might have slipped in a few pieces of spyware of your own, you mean.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
That's a lot of material. Must be 4K video. Did Tolstoy even write that much?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
When the CIA releases Al Qaeda propaganda it's perfectly fine.
If I were to even say something nice about the bastards then I'd be labelled a terrorist and find myself in a 0-star suite in Cuba wearing an orange jumpsuit. I thought that the CIA was supposed to be fighting the CIA, not becoming their web provider.
If he was still alive don't you think him making a statement would be the ultimate insult?
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
Who here would want to have their computer analyzed at some later date for an unrelated charge and have what amounts to recruiting material for a terrorist organization found on their laptop? Even if you could explain it away, that might well be only after spending heaploads in lawyer fees.
Sounds like one should not touch any of this release. Bad ju-ju.
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
I'll quote from my completely-made-up super-secret unredacted investigation document:
The Dallas witness said that an ambitious group of Soviet university students had discussed an assassination and met every Thursday in "Kampainstart Tavern", a bar in Moscow. Through CIA Agent Skip Towne, an operation was begun in Moscow (see referenced document #3.14) utilizing the American-sympathetic professor Dr. Doktor, resulting in the cooperation of Igor Tratorov, a student known to frequent the bar in question. The most potent truth serum available to Dr. Doktor (which was slightly less potent than the vodka available) was a standard dose of truthinol. Under the serum's (and vodka's) influence, Tratorov revealed that the discussion was actually a plan to assassinate the senior chief janitor at the Kremlin. Tratorov was presented the option to defect to the United States, but chose to remain in the USSR to complete his studies, while continuing to assist the CIA as an operative under Agent Towne.
This would add no useful information to the story of Kennedy's assassination, but it would endanger the lives of everyone named, as well as trigger a few dozen investigations into colleagues, friends, and family, some of which might still be assisting the United States through old connections. The named Agent Towne might no longer be playing the spy game, but if he started introducing another American in Moscow before leaving, that person would certainly fall under suspicion now. Poor Igor may have regretted his actions and gone on to support the Soviet (and later Russian) government faithfully, but now he'd face punishment for a decades-old capital crime.
Even if all of the people were safe, there is still intelligence value in knowing the methods used. In this example, "truthinol" is established to be similar in effect to alcohol. Combining that with another released or stolen document that says something along the lines of "factanol is shown to be ten times as effective as the old truthinol" means the strength of the modern truth serum can be estimated with reasonable accuracy.
That's how intelligence and counterintelligence works. It's a long game, played over generations and using corrupted people as pawns. Every agency knows what information it's looking for, and it constantly looks for any tangential information that might get it closer to its goal. With modern technology, public releases can be processed in a few minutes to find any useful pieces to an adversary's puzzle. Redaction of those releases is the best way to counter that capability.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
Good aphorism!
Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
CIA Agent Skip Towne
I can hardly believe that's a real name!
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
I think you should read Seymour Hersh on this. He's the most reliable source I know on the subject (which doesn't guarantee him being right on everything) He says Bin Laden was a defenseless man in a wheelchair who was mostly shot to pieces.
Am I the only one that believes the whole Bin Laden assassination was faked?
Not just the assassination.
Populus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur...
"Force shits upon Reason's back." - Poor Richard's Almanac
Probably not. There are people who think Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison are still alive too. And Andy Kaufman! And I shit you not: many many years ago, I think I saw a tabloid headline claiming that even JFK was still alive (but brain-damaged, of course).
(Adolph Hitler was a good one too, but even if he had been alive after 1945, he'd have still died of old age by now.)
Why you do believe he's still alive? ("He" being bin Laden, but if you'd rather explain a Jim-Morrison-is-still-alive hypothesis that might be more fun, so go with whoever you prefer.)
No, those are reasons for being unsure about whether he's alive or dead. To form a believe in him being alive, there would have to be a reason; something that tips you from I-don't-know-if-I-can-believe-these-untrustworthy-people to I've-caught-them-in-a-lie. Was it evidence? Or did an angel tell you? Or what?
(BTW, I changed my mind about going with whoever you prefer. If you only have time to do one, please do Jim Morrison instead!)
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
I understand your point. But who arbitrates what falls under the national security rubric? How isn't it that these agencies police themselves in getting to decide how best to 'enhance' public understanding? The only information that gets released that casts them in a negative light is that which has been leaked.
So you download it and start sifting through it all to find that O.B.L. era terrorist malware, only to find advanced backdoor contagions that exploit specific vulnerabilities in only Windows 10. I see what you did there, CIA! The malware warning was a good way to give the hacker a nice laugh. One of those inside jokes.
"Am I the only one that believes the whole Bin Laden assassination was faked?" Yes.