Defense Department Blocking Any Website With Wikileaks In The Title?

from the department-of-denial dept

Tue, Dec 7th 2010 1:54pm — Mike Masnick

Given the Library of Congress' silly decision to block Wikileaks' website, we've been informed by a reader at the Defense Department that filters of DoD computers currently seem to be blocking access to any website that has "Wikileaks" in the title. The reader (who acknowledges this policy is pretty freaking stupid) was wondering if we might stop using Wikileaks in post titles so that he can continue to read our coverage -- since the filters do allow him to access stories with Wikileaks in the text, rather than the title. First off, we're not going to do that (if you want, try using an RSS reader or reading the stories via the front page) but more importantly, what is the Defense Department thinking? What a hamfisted attempt to block access to information that's widely available.

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Filed Under: blocks, defense department, wikileaks
Companies: wikileaks

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Dark Helmet (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 1:28pm

So....
You have your own DoD "leak" of information related to government practices?

I'm sure you'll have MiBs knocking on your door in no time....
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:03pm

Because blocking strings with websense is the new hotness. I would be willing to bet the 'reader' cant search on those terms either, since that term appears in the URL. It may be hamfisted but it is also routine.

during world cup coverage I couldnt read anything with 'vuvuzela' in the title because it contained the substring 'VUZE' which is a torrent application.
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:09pm

Re: SEXtant
Guess you're screwed if you ever need to look up how to use a sextant, too.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:10pm

Wikileaks proxy
Someone should create an open proxy which replaces any instance of the word "Wikileaks" with "puppies". To prevent abuse, it should only allow access to pages with the word "Wikileaks" on them (which will be replaced by "puppies").
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:11pm

Re:
during world cup coverage I couldnt read anything with 'vuvuzela' in the title because it contained the substring 'VUZE' which is a torrent application.

that.. sounds.. awesome.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:12pm

Re: So....
They will zap your memory with those MIB lights to make you forget everything in the leak.
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Wikileaks, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:22pm

Wikileaks in all fields
We've been informed by a reader at the Defense Department that filters of DoD computers currently seem to be blocking access to any website that has "Wikileaks" in the title.

Okay, well, the more I read about the DoD and their methods, the more I realize that they all subscribe to Popular Mechanics and did something like this for Halloween. Click through- Something's definitely wrong with this pumpkin [LINK]
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Sandwichmancer, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:29pm

"close your eyes, it will go away"

Are they dealing with closet monster or reality?
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Fucking out of their shoes, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:38pm

Wikileaks in all fields?
That's fucking crazy. 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Fucking out.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:42pm

My Wikilinks criticism site is screwed!
All that money to get Wikilinkssucks.com out the window.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:49pm

Re: My Wikilinks criticism site is screwed!
"All that money to get Wikilinkssucks.com out the window."

...this is Joe Lieberman, isn't it. If yes, then two things:

1. Pick a party

2. Try to look less like Emperor Palpatine and sound less like that droopy cartoon dog
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DirtyFrank (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:49pm

Vuze, sextant et al.
If this keeps up, people in Scunthorpe are really going to struggle.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:59pm

Chief Assange Accuser Has History With CIA and Anti Castro Groups
Oooh. I just found this-

">Assange Accuser Worked with US-Funded, CIA-Tied Anti-Castro Group

So it *IS* an inside job. Osama Bin Laden living in a cave, that is.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:01pm

Re: Chief Assange Accuser Has History With CIA and Anti Castro Groups
Link Check on Comment 13. Link Check on Comment 13...

http://my.firedoglake.com/kirkmurphy/2010/12/04/assanges-chief-accuser-has-her-own-history- with-us-funded-anti-castro-groups-one-of-which-has-cia-ties/
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Bradley Stewart, 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:04pm

Let's Put Someone In A
room filled with Secret Documents with a high speed Computer Line to the outside World. What could possibly ever go wrong? I would just like to know who authorized this idea. Well maybe if were lucky it will come out in the Wiki-Leaks Documents.
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Designerfx (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:07pm

guess what else?
also means that it probably won't block the mirrors either
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:09pm

OT: Re: Chief Assange Accuser Has History With CIA and Anti Castro Groups
Just found an interesting and somewhat related news article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/07/rape-claims-julian-assange
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rstr5105 (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:13pm

Is Wikileaks down?
I don't visit WL Everyday, and I've only been half following the WL story as it has become such a large internet white-noise generator, so I may be a little behind, forgive me if that is the case, but has Wikileaks been taken offline altogether or has my ISP decided to join the bandwagon...?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:23pm

Re: Vuze, sextant et al.
Our email team can't research their own MS Exchange servers!
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:27pm

Re: Is Wikileaks down?
a bit of both probably. their dns provider won't list them anymore and your isp is run by morons.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:31pm

Re: Let's Put Someone In A
the punk that copied the classified documents (does anyone even still remember his name?) burned them to a CD and walked them out the front door. So the Army released a new policy that classified computers can't write to external media anymore. The first reasonable response to this whole thing I've seen.

/btw, i'm on a DoD computer and have no trouble seeing this page so it's not blocked all over.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:32pm

Re: Is Wikileaks down?
Twitter says that Tonight's topics will be Colonel Gaddafi; Saudi fights with Hezbollah, and US propaganda.

Main site is up. Try a mirror? Wikileaks is currently mirrored on 1005 sites...
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 3:57pm

Re: Is Wikileaks down?
The main wikileaks.org has been down for several days (DNS issues). Try wikileaks.ch or several other alternate names and mirrors.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 4:04pm

This is standard stuff in Windows Group Policy settings. Just reading through the hundreds of settings you constantly ask yourself in what conceivable situation would someone want to do X, Y, or Z. But then you remember Microsoft has had a sweet government deal for years.
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Big Al, 7 Dec 2010 @ 4:15pm

Re: Re: SEXtant
Don't laugh - when my kids were at school they couldn't look up anything about the county 'Sussex', and had to do it from home.
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Chargone (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 4:24pm

Re: Re: So....
yup.

they'll flashy-thingy you.
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rstr5105 (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 4:49pm

Re: Re: Is Wikileaks down?
Thanks I read through a couple of other articles and saw ch url. Been reading the cables since then. =)
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2010 @ 4:57pm

Re: Re: Let's Put Someone In A
Hmm. Something tells me that's been available since Windows XP but I could be wrong.
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Joe Krahn, 7 Dec 2010 @ 4:57pm

Obfuscating proxy?
I guess people will have to start setting up obfuscating proxy web servers to conceal the filter words.
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Daemon_ZOGG (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 6:03pm

"Defense Department Blocking Any Website With Wikileaks In The Title"
First off.. A large portion of the US government doesn't really have the Constitution in mind anyway. Having said that.. now use general logic. It's not suprising that US government entities would block or be resentfull of anything relating to WikiLeaks. Personally, I morally support and congratulate(2 thumbs up), Wikileaks for what they are doing. It's high time that democracy was returned back to the people. I'm already tired of the US secret police, facists'. I praise Wikileaks for its efforts. I'd donate some cash, but unfortunately, I happen to live in the US's current third world economic system. }:P
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abc gum, 7 Dec 2010 @ 6:04pm

Guess they'll have to stop singing the Star Bangled Banner, as it is no longer applicable.

I do not remember packing up and moving to China ... but it sure looks like that is what happened. I expect to see tanks rolling down main street anytime now.
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Anonymous Howard, Cowering, 7 Dec 2010 @ 6:15pm

Re: So....
Maybe s/he's in an undisclosed location...
or secret bunker...
or on a lawyer hunting trip (oops, hunting trip with a lawyer)...
or getting a 20,000-hour checkup on his/her mechanical heart (the original one having been removed during a previous administration)...

it's so hard to remember which story we're pushing this week.
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reechard (profile), 7 Dec 2010 @ 6:47pm

Not only stupid, but dangerous.
Blocking access to any website that has "Wikileaks" in the title
Perhaps the geniuses at the DoD don't realize that they are aiding terrorists with policies like that. They give our "enemies" a ridiculously simple method of hiding from the DoD, while they cover their ears and say "LALALALA I can't hear you"
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BearGriz72 (profile), 8 Dec 2010 @ 4:25am

Re: Re: My Wikilinks criticism site is screwed!
Supreme Chancellor Joseph 'Palpatine' Lieberman?
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Mindless Automaton, 8 Dec 2010 @ 3:15pm

Specific Orders
Above and beyond blocking Wikileaks from DOD computers, members of the US military have been SPECIFICALLY ORDERED not to read or watch anything related to Wikileaks, because the information is still classified, and we are not authorized to view it.
This includes at home in our personal lives. We are prohibited from viewing the Wikileaks website, and also media outlets such as the New York Times, and any others that publish the information.
Frankly I find it infuriating...
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