WikiLeaks publishes security think tank Stratfor’s emails

WikiLeaks is releasing over five million emails today that were taken from the US-based global geopolitical analysis corporation Strategic Forecasting Inc.(Stratfor), the BBC reported.

MSNBC quoted a statement released by Stratfor in response early today that refused to be "victimized twice by submitting to questioning" over correspondence gained by what it described as a "deplorable, unfortunate — and illegal — breach of privacy." The firm also warned that some emails "may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies."

Stratfor, described as a "shadow CIA" by the respected business magazine Barron's, provides geopolitical security analysis to clients worldwide. It is based in Austin, Texas and founded in 1996. The company’s website says its "goal is simple: to make the complexity of the world understandable to an intelligent readership, without ideology, agenda or national bias.”

Stratfor computers were hacked in December by Anonymous, a loose collective of hackers largely supportive of Wikileak's anti-secrecy agenda, said the BBC. 

WikiLeaks issued a press release saying the correspondence dates from July 2004 to December 2011 and “reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services" to organizations such as "the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency.”

The move comes days after Army private Bradley Manning declined to enter a plea over accusations that he helped with the largest leak of classified information in US history by providing Wikileaks with over 700,000 documents and video clips, reported The Wall Street Journal.

More on GlobalPost: Anonymous targets Canadian police, politicians

Wired reported that the release of information is a collaboration between hacker group Anonymous and WikiLeaks, and 25 media outlets around the world have assisted in analyzing documents, including two based in America: McClatchy and Rolling Stone.

Members of Anonymous told Wired that they turned the information over to WikiLeaks because, “WikiLeaks has great means to publish and disclose” and “they work together with media in a way we don’t.”

AFP noted that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is in Britain, fighting extradition to Sweden in connection with allegations of rape and sexual assault. If he were sent to Sweden, WikiLeaks feared that Assange would be sent on to the United States after the organization had published thousands of classified diplomatic files.

More on GlobalPost: Bradley Manning, Wikileaks suspect, defers making a plea in court