Assange’s arrest in London on Thursday on a US extradition request to face charges of computer crimes could spell the end of 13-year-old WikiLeaks. In 2006 he built an online platform that offered an anonymous, encrypted path to leak computerised files without fear of exposure. It began scooping mainstream media on stories from secret climate discussions to Iran’s nuclear activities and Icelandic banking fraud. A multi-country effort got major credit card and payment firms to cut WikiLeaks’ financial lifeline of donations. But by 2012 others were already adopting his model of setting up encrypted, anonymous paths for leakers to hand over documents.

Source: Pakistan Today April 12, 2019 08:03 UTC