The Domscheit-Bergs Destroy 3,500 WikiLeaks Submissions

The story of Germany's latter-day Bonnie & Clyde gets uglier by the minute.

Get It Try It

BERLIN (Rixstep) — In a move destined to brand them as the scum of the earth, Anke Domscheit-Berg and Daniel Domscheit-Berg, her ten year younger husband, tell the German media they've now shredded a total of 3,500 WikiLeaks whistleblower submissions, including the monster tranche on the Bank of America.

People all across the planet are expressing their outrage.

The Domscheit-Bergs claim they've done this to protect the sources, this despite eleven months of negotiating with Germany's Chaos Computer Club, firm statements to Spiegel Online a year ago they would take nothing, a flat-out denial a week ago to the German media, and the excuse given to the CCC only a fortnight ago that they wanted to read through all the documents first before returning them.

The move is seen by most as a desperate attempt to save face after their abortive OpenLeaks project was outed as a fraud at the CCC summer camp last week.

Pundits are also rightfully wondering if either of the Domscheit-Bergs know anything about secure deletion, given Daniel's bewilderingly vacuous speech about web bugs, cookies, and anything but what the esoteric audience expected.

Details of Betrayal and Destruction

The Domscheit-Bergs have been holding WikiLeaks hostage since September last year, threatening to expose WikiLeaks whistleblowers if WikiLeaks pursued them legally. Now that the Domscheit-Bergs have told Holger Stark of Spiegel Online that the documents are gone, Julian Assange can speak out for the first time.

Assange intimated not long ago there was a reason the files on Bank of America had not been released but also indicated he was under a 'gag order' of sorts. He asked his audience to imagine the two worst scenarios possible and assured them the real reason would be one of them. Amongst other things, Assange revealed the following on the WikiLeaks Twitter feed.

√ The destroyed data included the entire US 'no fly' list.
√ The destroyed data included 5 GB of files on Bank of America.
√ The destroyed data included internals on some 20 neo-Nazi groups.
√ The destroyed data included intercept arrangements for over 100 Internet companies.
√ The destroyed data included over 60,000 email messages from the extremist group NPD.

Details of Shredding

Secure deletion is a science and it's not considered likely either of the Domscheit-Bergs would know how to handle it - if in fact they did shred the documents - documents some people probably risked their lives to get to WikiLeaks.

Then again with their now legendary track record, it's not likely they can be taken at their word either.

Only one thing's bankable: Anke and Daniel are two of the most despised individuals on the planet.

See Also
OpenLeaks @ CCC 2011 (MP4)
Nothing is Permanent: Open Letter
Industry Watch: Schmitt Leaves WikiLeaks?
Industry Watch: The WikiLeaks Palace Revolt
Industry Watch: OpenLeaks: Schmitt on Toast
Industry Watch: OpenLeaks Off to a Flying Fail
Global Voices: Renata Avila Contributor Profile
Industry Watch: OpenLeaks: Schmitt on Toast II
Topsy: The Life and Times of the Leberkäse Kid
Industry Watch: Schmitt Suspended from WikiLeaks
Developers Workshop: The Jabberwocky of DeeDeeBee
Zeit Online: Chaos Computer Club misstraut OpenLeaks
Hanno's Blog: OpenLeaks doing strange things with SSL
The Technological: Daniel Domscheit-Berg: The Reviews
Spiegel Online: Ex-Sprecher vernichtete WikiLeaks-Dateien
The Technological: The Life and Times of the Leberkäse Kid
Red Hat Diaries: Unrequited Love, Uncomfortable Coincidences
Spiegel Online: WikiLeaks-Aussteiger haben Datenschatz entführt
TwitLonger: Statement by Julian Assange on the Domscheit-Bergs
Spiegel Online: Chaos Computer Club wirft OpenLeaks-Gründer raus
Industry Watch: Statement by Julian Assange on the Domscheit-Bergs
TwitLonger: WikiLeaks Statement on Daniel Domscheit-Berg and OpenLeaks
Spiegel Online: Chaos Computer Club: Hacker distanzieren sich von OpenLeaks
Industry Watch: WikiLeaks Statement on Daniel Domscheit-Berg and OpenLeaks
Spiegel Online: 'I Doubt Domscheit-Berg's Integrity': Top Hacker Slams OL Founder