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m Equazcion moved page Global Intelligence Files to 2012 Stratfor email leak over redirect: This was discussed on the talk page. Consensus was reached, please contribute to the discussion first if you disagree.
reflect reverted move, also the "5 million" emails needs to be clearly presented as merely a claim by wikileaks, unless there's a source that says it's a hard fact
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The '''Global Intelligence Files''' are a public disclosure of a number of internal emails between [[Private intelligence agency|global intelligence]] company [[Stratfor]]'s employees and its clients by ''[[Wikileaks]]''. The first 705 e-mails were released by ''WikiLeaks'' on February 27, 2012, with the intent of disclosing more than 5 million e-mails.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releases.html |title=The Global Intelligence Files |author=[[Wikileaks]] |date=February 27, 2012 |work= |publisher= |accessdate=March 13, 2012}}</ref>
The '''2012 Stratfor email leak''' is the public disclosure of a number of internal emails between [[Private intelligence agency|global intelligence]] company [[Stratfor]]'s employees and its clients, referred to by [[Wikileaks]] as the Global Intelligence Files. The emails began to appear on WikiLeaks on February 27, 2012. There are more than 5 million emails that will eventually be disclosed according to WikiLeaks, though only 705 have been released thus far.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releases.html |title=The Global Intelligence Files |author=[[Wikileaks]] |date=February 27, 2012 |work= |publisher= |accessdate=March 13, 2012}}</ref>


The e-mails allegedly include client information, notes between Stratfor employees and internal procedural documentation on securing intelligence data.<ref>{{cite news |title=WikiLeaks' Stratfor Email Release Raises Uncomfortable Questions |author=Fahmida Y. Rashid |url=http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/WikiLeaks-Stratfor-Email-Release-Raises-Uncomfortable-Questions-734788/ |newspaper=[[eWeek]] |date=February 27, 2012 |accessdate=February 28, 2012}}</ref> These communications date from July 2004 through to December 2011.<ref name="India">{{cite news |title=Stratfor was Dow’s Bhopal spy: WikiLeaks |author=[[Staff writer]] |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Stratfor-was-Dows-Bhopal-spy-WikiLeaks/articleshow/12062587.cms |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |date=February 28, 2012 |accessdate=February 28, 2012}}</ref>
The emails are claimed to include client information, notes between Stratfor employees, and internal procedural documentation on securing intelligence data.<ref>{{cite news |title=WikiLeaks' Stratfor Email Release Raises Uncomfortable Questions |author=Fahmida Y. Rashid |url=http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/WikiLeaks-Stratfor-Email-Release-Raises-Uncomfortable-Questions-734788/ |newspaper=[[eWeek]] |date=February 27, 2012 |accessdate=February 28, 2012}}</ref> These communications date from July 2004 through December 2011.<ref name="India">{{cite news |title=Stratfor was Dow’s Bhopal spy: WikiLeaks |author=[[Staff writer]] |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Stratfor-was-Dows-Bhopal-spy-WikiLeaks/articleshow/12062587.cms |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |date=February 28, 2012 |accessdate=February 28, 2012}}</ref>


''WikiLeaks'' said it had obtained the e-mails from the hacker group [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]], who [[Stratfor#2011_hacking_incident|broke into Stratfor's computer network in 2011]].<ref name="AP1">{{cite news |title=WikiLeaks publishes leaked Stratfor emails |author=Cassandra Vinograd and Raphael Satter |url=http://www.newsday.com/business/technology/wikileaks-publishes-leaked-stratfor-emails-1.3560346 |newspaper=[[Associated Press]] |date=February 27, 2012 |accessdate=February 28, 2012}}</ref> In an initial announcement, ''WikiLeaks'' stated that they opened up a [[database]] of the emails to two dozen media organizations operating in several countries, including ''[[McClatchy Co.]]'', ''[[L'Espresso]]'', ''[[La Repubblica]]'', ''[[ARD (broadcaster)|ARD]]'', the ''[[Russia Reporter]]'',<ref name="Reuters"/> and ''[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]'',<ref name="AP1"/> along with a "sneak preview" to ''[[The Yes Men]]''.<ref name="Reuters"/>
WikiLeaks claims to have obtained the emails from the hacker group [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]], who [[Stratfor#2011_hacking_incident|hacked Stratfor's computer network in 2011]].<ref name="AP1">{{cite news |title=WikiLeaks publishes leaked Stratfor emails |author=Cassandra Vinograd and Raphael Satter |url=http://www.newsday.com/business/technology/wikileaks-publishes-leaked-stratfor-emails-1.3560346 |newspaper=[[Associated Press]] |date=February 27, 2012 |accessdate=February 28, 2012}}</ref>
WikiLeaks stated in their initial announcement that they opened up a [[database]] of the emails to two dozen media organizations operating in several countries, including [[McClatchy Co.]], ''[[L'Espresso]]'', ''[[La Repubblica]]'', [[ARD (broadcaster)|ARD]], the [[Russia Reporter]],<ref name="Reuters"/> and [[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]],<ref name="AP1"/> along with a "sneak preview" to [[The Yes Men]].<ref name="Reuters"/>


==Email content==
==Email content==

Revision as of 12:08, 14 March 2012

The 2012 Stratfor email leak is the public disclosure of a number of internal emails between global intelligence company Stratfor's employees and its clients, referred to by Wikileaks as the Global Intelligence Files. The emails began to appear on WikiLeaks on February 27, 2012. There are more than 5 million emails that will eventually be disclosed according to WikiLeaks, though only 705 have been released thus far.[1]

The emails are claimed to include client information, notes between Stratfor employees, and internal procedural documentation on securing intelligence data.[2] These communications date from July 2004 through December 2011.[3]

WikiLeaks claims to have obtained the emails from the hacker group Anonymous, who hacked Stratfor's computer network in 2011.[4]

WikiLeaks stated in their initial announcement that they opened up a database of the emails to two dozen media organizations operating in several countries, including McClatchy Co., L'Espresso, La Repubblica, ARD, the Russia Reporter,[5] and Rolling Stone,[4] along with a "sneak preview" to The Yes Men.[5]

Email content

One of the first items released was an email containing a glossary, titled, "The Stratfor Glossary of Useful, Baffling and Strange Intelligence Terms", which contains concise and sometimes humorously candid definitions, along with pointed assessments of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement.[6]

Stratfor

Some emails reveal that Stratfor had been partnering with Shea Morenz, a former Goldman Sachs director, along with other informants, in order to profit from what could be considered insider trading. Stratfor planned to use the intelligence it gathered in order to profit from trading in several worldwide markets. They created an offshore "share structure" known as "StratCap" during 2011, in order to avoid insider trading allegations. The offshore entity, set to launch operations in 2012, is outwardly independent of Stratfor, but CEO George Friedman told his employees that StratCap is secretly integrated with Stratfor.[7][8]

Friedman stated in an email that in order to avoid legal repercussions from these activities, the company would be "retaining a law firm to create a policy for Stratfor on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act."[8]

Governmental

An email involving a Stratfor analyst stated that it had been determined that up to 12 officials in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency knew of Osama bin-Laden's safe house.[9] Another email indicated that Stratfor Vice President Fred Burton had knowledge of the killing of bin Laden, and that the body was not dumped at sea, but rather sent to Dover Air Force Base in the United States.[10] This further fueled doubts about the US Government's account of the killings.[11]

Ynetnews reported that, according to internal emails between Stratfor employees, Israel and Russia were engaged in an exchange of information in 2008. Israel gave Russia "'data link codes' for unmanned aerial vehicles that the Jewish state sold to Georgia" and that Russia gave "the codes for [the] Tor-M1 missile defense systems that Russia sold Iran". The emails also stated that, during the 2008 South Ossetia war, Georgia "realized that their UAVs were compromised and were looking for a replacement for the Israeli made drones".[12]

International Business Times reported that Stratfor had found that several Central European countries, especially the Czech Republic, have been petitioning NATO for missile defenses and F16s to use against Russia. The Czech Republic, according to an unknown Stratfor source, has stated that, if the talks with the US fail, then it will be breaking all ties with NATO and the US in general.[13]

Companies

As reported by The Times of India, some of the emails reveal that Stratfor was allegedly hired by Dow Chemical Company to spy on protesters of the Bhopal disaster.[3] Dow Chemical Company responded with a written statement that read: "Major companies are often required to take appropriate action to protect their people and safeguard their facilities," and that it had not broken any laws.[4]

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that, according to some of the released emails, the Coca-Cola Company has paid Stratfor to determine "to what extent will US-based PETA supporters travel to Canada to support activism" at the 2010 Olympics. The Coca-Cola Company responded to the emails with a statement saying that they "consider it prudent to monitor for protest activities at any major event we sponsor".[14]

Responses

Official response

Around midnight on February 27, Stratfor released a statement saying that "the release of its stolen emails was an attempt to silence and intimidate it." It also dismissed rumors of CEO George Friedman's resignation.[5]

Stratfor stated that some of the leaked emails "may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies; some may be authentic", but that they would not confirm either possibility. They further stated that the emails represented candid internal language that would probably be ripe for misinterpretation.[5]

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Reuters that his concerns with Stratfor stem from it being a private intelligence firm relying on informants from government agencies with dubious reputations, both from the U.S. and abroad, and especially its targeting of activist organizations.[5] He also called the company a "shadow CIA" and stated that the emails would "reveal Stratfor's web of informers, payoff structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods."[15]

Other responses

Former NSA Director Bobby Inman stated that the leak would be damaging to Stratfor's business. He had previously stated that Stratfor was competent, delivering high-quality intelligence analyses.[14]

Max Fisher, the associate director of The Atlantic, argued that Stratfor has a poor reputation "among foreign policy writers, analysts, and practitioners" and that as a result Anonymous and Wikileaks have exaggerated the significance of the information they released. He also suggested that Assange may have targeted a relatively unimportant firm and over-hyped the results in order to "regain some of his former glory".[16] Australian Broadcasting Corporation foreign correspondent and Stratfor subscriber Mark Corcoran also wrote that the e-mails showed Stratfor's methods used to gather information are similar to those employed by journalists, though he wrote that the quality of its reports are often inferior to news reports.[17]

References

  1. ^ Wikileaks (February 27, 2012). "The Global Intelligence Files". Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  2. ^ Fahmida Y. Rashid (February 27, 2012). "WikiLeaks' Stratfor Email Release Raises Uncomfortable Questions". eWeek. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Staff writer (February 28, 2012). "Stratfor was Dow's Bhopal spy: WikiLeaks". The Times of India. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c Cassandra Vinograd and Raphael Satter (February 27, 2012). "WikiLeaks publishes leaked Stratfor emails". Associated Press. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e Staff writer (February 27, 2012). "WikiLeaks targets global risk company Stratfor". Reuters. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  6. ^ Staff writer (February 27, 2012). "WikiLeaks begins disclosing intelligence firm's e-mails". CNN. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  7. ^ The WikiLeaks GiFiles: Stratfor Plotted with Goldman Sachs to Set Up Investment Fund - International Business Times
  8. ^ a b Pratap Chatterjee (February 28, 2012). "WikiLeaks' Stratfor dump lifts lid on intelligence-industrial complex". The Guardian. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  9. ^ Damien McElroy (February 27, 2012). "Stratfor: Osama bin Laden 'was in routine contact with Pakistan's spy agency'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  10. ^ Wikileaks (May 2, 2011). "Re: OBL's corpse". Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  11. ^ Jason Ditz (March 4, 2012). "WikiLeaks Email: Bin Laden's Corpse Not Dumped at Sea". Antiwar.com. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  12. ^ Staff writer (February 28, 2012). "WikiLeaks: Russia gave Israel Iranian system's codes". Ynetnews. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  13. ^ Anissa Haddadi (February 27, 2012). "The WikiLeaks GiFiles: Central Europe States Warn of 'Russian Threat'". International Business Times. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Paul J. Weber and Raphael Satter (February 28, 2012). "WikiLeaks publishes leaked Stratfor emails, casting light on workings of private US intel firm". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  15. ^ Mark Seibel (February 29, 2012). "WikiLeaks: Stratfor emails reveal problems with Web security". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  16. ^ Fisher, Max (February 27, 2012). "Stratfor Is a Joke and So Is Wikileaks for Taking It Seriously". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  17. ^ Corcoran, Mark (February 29, 2012). "Confessions of a Stratfor subscriber". The Drum. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved March 5, 2012.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stratfor_email_leak&oldid=481837768"