Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

By Larry Dignan | December 8, 2010, 12:12pm PST

Mastercard said Thursday that it is recovering from a series of attacks related to the Wikileaks flap.

MasterCard has made significant progress in restoring full-service to its corporate website. Our core processing capabilities have not been compromised and cardholder account data has not been placed at risk. While we have seen limited interruption in some web-based services, cardholders can continue to use their cards for secure transactions globally.

Hackers have taken aim at Mastercard in an effort dubbed “Operation Payback.” These attacks are aimed at any company that hampered the Wikileaks effort. Mastercard stopped processing donations for WikiLeaks.

Amazon, who nixed Wikileaks’ hosting, and PayPal are also on the hit list.

These companies are now deemed enemies of Wikileaks leader Julian Assange, who is being held in the U.K. on accusations of sex offensives.

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Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

rayyi 1st Nov

The pellet cooler is used to reduce the temperature of hot pellets from pellet mill to ambient temperature.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

james347 8th Dec 2010

Poor babies!

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such an honorable group of people

Ron Bergundy 8th Dec 2010

"These companies are now deemed enemies of Wikileaks leader Julian Assange"

So either you support those you don't want to or we'll take you down. so much for having the "freedom to chose who you want to deal with"

I'm sure the HollyWoodDogs and economisters will tell us how this is so much better then how the US gov does it.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

rhonin Updated - 8th Dec 2010

@cyberspammer2
Is it who they wish to deal with or goverment pressure pushing them in that direction.
PayPal already let out they cut off WikiLeaks due to goverment pressure.... though what type keeps getting spun out to Neptune and back.....

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Don't you see the irony?

Richard Flude Updated - 8th Dec 2010

"So either you support those you don't want to or we'll take you down."

Shutting down service of customers they don't support;-)

The information released is instructive. We finally what the MSM media knew of the failures of governments/politicians but never published because they're in bed with them.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

josepe12 27th Jul

I don't support hacking, but I don't know what their contract was with Wikileaks so I can't claim knowledge on whether or not it was their right to breach that contract without consequence.
(In case you didn't know, I am a Wikileaks supporter...)
<a href="http://comment-devenir-riche-fr.blogspot.com/">comment
devenir riche</a>

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Mastercard and Freedom

iamandami 8th Dec 2010

After all what?s the point of freedom and responsibility and opportunity if you are denied such things only to have the world figured out and sold to you in convenient episodes that so often serve to conveniently serve the indoctrinated/vested power bases and their infomercial packages?

After all is it really all about freedom as Mastercard so often boasts in its commercials? I wonder...

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2010/12/media-transparency-mastercard-and-payback/

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

GLComputing 8th Dec 2010

It's shocking that companies like Amazon, Mastercard, VISA and Paypal are bowing to US govt pressure to completely abandon due-process, free speech and free press. Those companies should all be prosecuted by any means possible for this insult to the values that the US was founded on

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

bobabob 8th Dec 2010

@GLComputing What? Why should these companies be prosecuted exactly? When you use the services that these companies provide, you agree by their terms of service. Free speech, due process and free press are not their concern. Take them to court, yes, but I doubt you would win because these companies are merely abiding by the terms of service.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

rhonin Updated - 8th Dec 2010

@bobabob
It's not tos they are dealing with, it is goverment pressure.
PayPal already let that cat out....
Now we have the Visa doantion issue as a result...

What scares companies is when the government rolls out the "terrorist" word as it gives them carte blanche to rummage and rampage - just the supposed threat is scary.

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Due process? Free speech???

Bradish@... 8th Dec 2010

@bobabob don't you people remember when Obama 'lectured students in Shanghai about freedom of the press and how the internet was the epitome of freedom of information. LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL ad infinitum!

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

AndyPagin 9th Dec 2010

@bobabob
Why should these companies be prosecuted exactly?
Well (from Zdnet.co.uk)...

"A hosting company has said it will take immediate legal action against Visa and MasterCard over the payments companies' refusal to process donations for whistleblower site Wikileaks.

DataCell EHF, a hosting company based in Iceland, facilitates donations to Wikileaks. DataCell said that it had been losing revenue since Visa and Mastercard decided to stop processing Wikileaks' donations.

"DataCell EHF... has decided to take up immediate legal actions (sic) to make donations possible again," said DataCell chief executive Andreas Fink in a statement on Wednesday.

Fink told ZDNet UK that DataCell would pursue legal action as soon as possible.

"Not being able to receive money from the public for a week can cost Wikileaks 7 digit figures in losses, and DataCell as well, as it is unable to process any cards," Fink said.
"

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

kidneyy 9th Oct

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

Michael Kelly 8th Dec 2010

@GLComputing

I was sympathetic with the WikiLeaks crowd until they started pulling this crap. This childishness proves that all this free speech talk is just a cover for doing whatever they want regardless of the law. They are proving beyond doubt that they are indeed terrorists, which is sad because rather than prove the government wrong for attaching this label to them, they are doing everything they can to live up to the label.

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WikiLeaks didn't attack any companies

HollywoodDog 8th Dec 2010

@Michael Kelly ... people can't be held responsible for third parties who take actions claiming to be inspired them.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

Michael Kelly 9th Dec 2010

@HollywoodDog

Yes they can. The Pope did not molest anybody as far as I know, yet he is (properly so) blamed for the scandal caused by others. I don't see Wikileaks doing anything to drcry the actions of these people. But I do see reports of Assange threatening to release some sort of doomsday leak if he should be legally convicted of crimes. Like I said, before this childishness started they had my attention. No more.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

dannote 9th Dec 2010

@Michael Kelly Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, and the like have major control over global business transactions. You don't see there's a problem when all these groups just start rolling over whenever a government pushes them to drop a client which the government doesn't like? Oh, it's legal under their service agreement, naturally... But then, what freedom are you left with when this means the US government can deprive you of your livelihood just because it doesn't like what you have to say?

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

Michael Kelly 10th Dec 2010

@dannote

I am not absolving Visa or Mastercard or Amazon or the US government in any way. But two wrongs do not make a right. It's not the leaks themselves that I object to, it's the threats and the childish behavior.

If Assange wants to release that big encrypted file that has all this embarrassing information to the world I am fine with that as long as it's the truth. But to withhold it and use it as a threat if any harm comes to him or Wikileaks, that is a threat. There is no journalistic integrity in such a threat.

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Lack of Due Process

sboverie 9th Dec 2010

@GLComputing
I agree that the companies should have resisted pressure until the government followed due process.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

ALISON SMOCK 8th Dec 2010

This article is incredibly misleading.
This is not Assange's army, and they were NOT organized by Wikileaks. This is anon. They take up random causes like this all the time. There's no wikileaks organized hit list or anything of the like, just a bunch of bored kids with a cause. They've messed with everyone from Justin Bieber to Scientology. They're (generally) staunchly anti-censorship, so their ideals happen to line up here. But they are NOT directly related to wikileaks.

Larry Dignan, You should be ashamed. You have absolutely done next to zero background research here.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

wendellgee@... 8th Dec 2010

No research? On ZDnet?? What else is new...

Bloggers just spew out attention grabbing headlines and whatever random thoughts enter their brains. Real research is done sometimes by Mary Jo or Ed but the rest are just blog filler.

You were expecting different???

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In my book it is still Wednesday

TxM2xTx 8th Dec 2010

"Mastercard said Thursday that it is" ... in a lot of places around the world it is still Wednesday.

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Time travel

Mister Spock 8th Dec 2010

I have witnessed it myself.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

rhonin 8th Dec 2010

@Mister Spock
Chuckle.... Nice!

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

tonymcs@... 8th Dec 2010

Larry, I think that's sex offences not offensives, unless he's planning an all out sex war wink

I think these companies were wrong to give in to threats and extortion by the US and its allies, just as they'd be wrong to do anything based on these attacks which are much the same thing.

Next time, they might consider saying NO to extortion, threats and intimidation by governments.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

storm14k 8th Dec 2010

@tonymcs@... That's all good until its somebody with a Muslim name using Amazon to facilitate a terrorist attack.

I'm just playing devils advocate here as I see all side of this. This really isn't an open and shut case. The people have a right to know that the government is doing. The government has the duty to.protect its citizen which could be hampered by making everything public.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

Bradish@... 8th Dec 2010

@storm14k then they should really hang the fellow who stole the docs in the first place...they they can complain about wikileaks

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

ItsTheBottomLine 9th Dec 2010

@Bradish@...
Exactly...Assagne is a nuisance and a scumbag, but someone had to give him the info...bottom line that is the person responsible. Go after him and people will think twice before they do something stupid like that again.

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

johnpall@... 8th Dec 2010

Well said @tonymcs

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

cybursoft 9th Dec 2010

wOW ! This issue is turning ugly fast , Everyone showing the true colors in government vs .dumb. The ISP declares it's self GOD of the internet , more like Internet Spy Police , hee haw banking. LMAO

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I really hate to said this

Quebec-french 9th Dec 2010

But this SHiit is getting out of hand fast when it was only Wikileak vs Us Goverment brawl that was ok , now some Anon start ddos attack and stuff... this is getting out of hand . I may be anti-american but Its all fun and game until someone does something pretty stupid .

We are reaching this point

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RE: Mastercard: We're recovering from Wikileaks related attacks

pinoyeto 9th Dec 2010

And to all other companies...who bowed to their government? Transparency? Well all of you who support the wisdom of distributing those "bad" techniques/procedures/methods of US diplomats, start with your selves. Firstly, show your real name and locations, do not hide - thats being secretive that you despise. Secondly, if you are not a US citizen, to whom the US does not yet owed its transparency, apply for citizenship before exercising the rights guaranteed by the constitution of the US. If you want to impose your will, be transparent, abide with the election law, or be elected and amend all the restrictive law you know.