OpenLeaks

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OpenLeaks
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Internet platform for whistleblowing
languages English
On-line January 26, 2011 (currently offline)
http://openleaks.org/

OpenLeaks was a whistleblowing website that was supposed to anonymously convey documents from third parties to cooperation partners such as the media via dead letterboxes , but was not supposed to publish them itself. The former WikiLeaks spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg announced the project in December 2010. In addition to Domscheit-Berg, other former WikiLeaks employees such as Herbert Snorrason are also involved in the project. At the end of January 2011, the first information on the function, implementation and financing was available on the website.

However, the website is now offline. At the beginning of July 2013, Daniel Domscheit-Berg told Technology Review that the project would be continued "without involving the general public".

functionality

Domscheit-Berg described OpenLeaks as a "technological project that has set itself the goal of being a service provider for third parties that accepts material from anonymous sources" and distributes it to the partners specified by the third party. Herbert Snorrason stated that OpenLeaks would not publish any sources, not even receive documents itself. A secure computer network is being built like a kind of "dead mailbox" into which anyone can drop documents and decide for themselves who should receive the documents. These mailboxes are on the websites of cooperation partners such as the media , trade unions , governments and human rights groups . In contrast to WikiLeaks, there should be no exclusive media partnerships. OpenLeaks will technically check documents to see whether they are forged or edited. In addition, the data would be processed in such a way that, unlike e-mail, it can no longer be traced back to the source.

In contrast to WikiLeaks, the focus should be on the content and the operators want to stay in the background in public. Information, and not the people who disseminate it, should be the focus of attention. OpenLeaks should not only manage documents of global importance, but also country or region-specific documents and is intended as an interface, service and technical solution for anonymization.

Planned realization

Time schedule

At the 27th Chaos Communication Congress , Daniel Domscheit-Berg announced the start of the project for January 2011 after the original deadline in mid-December 2010 could not be met. Initially, a closed test phase should start with selected partners, which should move into a beta phase in April or May. In August, OpenLeaks will go into full operation after the presentation and testing at the Chaos Communication Camp . On January 26th, a document about the content of the website leaked and was published by Cryptome , so that those responsible opened the page with initial information for the public, although further work is still necessary. At the Re: publica 2011, Domscheit-Berg stated in April that the background work had cost a lot of time, the technology was largely finished and he hoped that OpenLeaks could start operating in the following months. At the official start there should be six partner organizations: three media organizations and three NGOs . In August 2011, Domscheit-Berg announced at the Chaos Communication Camp that the system for the secure submission of information was ready for use and that all that was left to do was work on the part of the media partners to ensure security for whistleblowers . In collaboration with the daily newspaper, he subjected his system to a five-day test for security vulnerabilities. Other media partners named are Der Freitag , foodwatch , the Portuguese weekly newspaper Expresso and the Danish daily newspaper Dagbladet Information . The Chaos Computer Club, organizer of the camp, accused him in connection with the test that he had abused the reputation of the association for his own project and excluded Domscheit-Berg from the association, but reversed this decision at the following general meeting. Almost a year after the first announcement of the project, OpenLeaks was not yet operational as a secure submission platform for documents. Shortly after the Chaos Communication Camp , Domscheit-Berg forecast that the project would start in February 2012 without being able to give a more precise date.

On November 7th, 2011 foodwatch announced the planned collaboration with OpenLeaks: “From foodwatch's point of view, however, the talks about a collaboration were unsatisfactory. For a platform that relies on trust, high requirements must apply, especially with regard to the transparency of the project and the reliability of the cooperation. We had agreed on this with the OpenLeaks operators. However, agreements made were not kept as agreed. Because of the sensitivity of such a project, foodwatch decided to drop the plans for a collaboration. "

financing

In order to be able to use the service, the partners should voluntarily support the project in expanding its infrastructure, for example by making server capacities available. In addition, donations should help to cover the financial needs of over 100,000 euros in the first year. If the network were to grow, the financial requirements would also increase. But if the platform were ever profitable, according to Herbert Snorrason , disclosed salaries would also be paid. With its divergent project idea, OpenLeaks does not see itself as a competitor to WikiLeaks. Domscheit-Berg stated on allegations of commercialization of the project that all services would in principle be free of charge. However, there will be models to support the project with infrastructure donations in order to keep the service free for as many as possible with this mixed calculation. For better transparency, there should be a responsible foundation that collects donations as the main source of income and whose members would be known by name. OpenLeaks accepts donations through Flattr and Bitcoin ; the sales proceeds from Domscheit-Berg's book “ Inside WikiLeaks ” were used for the financing.

Media coverage

The announcement of the project already attracted considerable media coverage. Among other things, the daily newspaper , the Financial Times Deutschland , Spiegel online and Chip online reported on OpenLeaks. The Süddeutsche Zeitung and the BBC World Service also addressed the issue.

Misinformation

For a while, the source code of the website, which was still under construction (at times also directly on the website), stated that OpenLeaks does not have an account on Twitter and does not use social networks during the construction phase to distribute public messages. As a result, a Swiss website that links to Facebook instead of an article on techPresident , as the official websites did, can currently only be viewed as unsolicited support or as free-riding to get even sensitive documents.

The registered Twitter account (@openleaks) cannot be used, according to OpenLeaks, a solution to the problem with the help of Twitter was unsuccessful. Therefore, the organization alternatively uses the short message service Identi.ca .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Unpublished Iraq War Logs Trigger Internal WikiLeaks Revolt . In: Wired , September 27, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2010. 
  2. ^ A b Andy Greenberg: Ex-WikiLeaker Explains His Spinoff Group, OpenLeaks , Forbes . December 9, 2010. 
  3. ↑ Ben Schwan: Daniel Domscheit-Berg: Openleaks is still alive. In: heise online . Technology Review , July 3, 2013, accessed July 3, 2013 .
  4. ↑ WikiRebels - The Documentary . Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  5. ↑ a b c New portal from ex-Wikileaks employees. This is how Openleaks works , Süddeutsche Zeitung , December 13, 2010, accessed on December 29, 2010
  6. ↑ a b Wikileaks alternative Openleaks. Second leak in January , the daily newspaper , December 14, 2010, accessed on December 15, 2010
  7. ↑ Time online on December 10, 2010: Wikileaks dropouts set up their own platform. Retrieved December 21, 2010 .
  8. ↑ a b Golem.de on December 30, 2010: New whistleblower project presented. Retrieved January 2, 2011 .
  9. ↑ OpenLeaks Goes Public ( memento of January 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 27, 2011.
  10. ↑ Cryptome.org of January 26, 2011. (PDF; 185 kB) Accessed February 2, 2011 .
  11. ↑ n-tv on April 14, 2011: The better Wikileaks? Openleaks in the starting blocks. Retrieved April 17, 2011 .
  12. ↑ a b WDR.de on April 15, 2011: Conversation with Daniel Domscheit-Berg during the Republica. Archived from the original on April 20, 2011 ; Retrieved April 17, 2011 .
  13. ↑ Portal Openleaks - Wikileaks Alternative goes online. In: www.sueddeutsche.de. August 11, 2011, accessed on August 11, 2011 (Süddeutsche Zeitung online on August 11, 2011).
  14. ↑ taz online on August 12, 2011: Trial architecture is up. Retrieved August 12, 2011 .
  15. ↑ gulli.com on August 10, 2011: OpenLeaks shortly before the alpha phase ( Memento from September 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  16. ↑ Time online on August 14, 2011: CCC throws Domscheit-Berg out. Retrieved August 14, 2011 .
  17. ^ Result of the extraordinary general meeting. Retrieved January 4, 2015 .
  18. ^ ORF on August 26, 2011: "Everything interesting published long ago"; Interview with Daniel Domscheit-Berg. Retrieved December 4, 2011 .
  19. ^ Foodwatch on November 7th, 2011: No foodwatch mailbox at OpenLeaks. Retrieved December 13, 2011 .
  20. ↑ Openleaks should go online. Virtual mailbox / "No competition for Wikileaks" , FAZ from December 14, 2010, No. 291, page 5
  21. ↑ Dominic Herzberg: Open Leaks - When an idea becomes a service ( Memento from December 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), blog supplement from December 14, 2010, accessed on December 15, 2010
  22. ↑ Wikileaks alternative Openleaks: Second leak in January; December 14, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2010 .
  23. ↑ Wikileaks finds imitators in Germany; December 13, 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010 ; Retrieved December 21, 2010 .
  24. ↑ Spiegel online on December 4, 2010: WikiLeaks dropouts set up their own website. Retrieved December 21, 2010 .
  25. ↑ Wikileaks co-founder: Openleaks planned; December 13, 2010. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010 ; Retrieved December 21, 2010 .
  26. ↑ Digital Planet; December 14, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2010 .
  27. ↑ OpenLeaks is coming soon ... While we continue to work on our first public appearance, for a little longer, please join us on social media :. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011 ; Retrieved January 2, 2011 .
  28. ↑ tech President on December 17, 2010: From Wikileaks to OpenLeaks, Via the Knight News Challenge. Retrieved January 2, 2011 .
  29. ↑ OpenLeaks. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011 ; Retrieved February 8, 2011 .
  30. ↑ Openleaks at Identi.ca. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010 ; Retrieved February 8, 2011 .