BONUS: The Art of Analyzing Hacked and Leaked Data
Apr 8, 2024
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The podcast explores the art of analyzing hacked and leaked data, covering topics like the Capitol Riot fallout, data vulnerabilities in Parlor, Trump's impeachment, legal consequences of the insurrection, and the significance of analyzing hacked data for public interest.
Learning technologies and coding skills is crucial for analyzing hacked and leaked data.
Analyzing data sets like those from the Capitol insurrection is vital for accountability and public interest.
Deep dives
Introduction to Analyzing Hacked Data
Micah Lee, an investigative reporter and Director of Information Security at The Intercept, introduces his book 'Hacks, Leaks, and Revelations,' aiming to teach individuals how to analyze hacked and leaked data. He highlights the importance of learning technologies and coding skills to investigate such data sets, providing real examples from police departments, militias, and social networks.
Analysis of the January 6 Insurrection
Lee delves into the events of the January 6 Capitol insurrection by Trump supporters following the 2020 US election. He explains the violent actions, including assaults on police officers, the death of officer Brian Sicknick, and subsequent suicides of officers involved. The role of social media platform Parler, the ban by major tech companies, and the data scraping done post the event are detailed.
Impact and Legal Ramifications
The aftermath of the insurrection leads to Trump's second impeachment on charges of incitement of insurrection. The Senate trial expands on the evidence presented, including archived Parler videos. Despite a majority vote for guilt, Trump is acquitted. Lee highlights the legal consequences faced by insurrectionists, with Oath Keepers and Proud Boys members facing convictions for seditious conspiracy, reinforcing the importance of analyzing data sets like these for accountability and public interest.
Unlike any other point in history, hackers, whistleblowers, and archivists now routinely make off with terabytes of data from governments, corporations, and extremist groups. These datasets often contain gold mines of revelations in the public interest and in many cases are freely available for anyone to download. Revelations based on leaked datasets can change the course of history.Yet these digital tomes can prove extremely difficult to analyze or interpret, and few people today have the skills to do so. Micah Lee’s new book, “Hacks, Leaks, and Revelations: The Art of Analyzing Hacked and Leaked Data” teaches journalists, researchers, and activists the technologies and coding skills required to do just this. The following episode is an excerpt from the book.