WikiLeaks: Germany, U.S. Developing Secret Spy Satellites

Germany and the United States are in the process of developing secret satellites that will be used for spying on other nations, according to the latest round of WikiLeaks cables. 

At a price of $274 million, the satellites are "officially" meant to be used for communication during natural disasters. However, WikiLeaks cables from the U.S. Department of State have revealed that the technology will actually be used for good old-fashioned spying.  

The HiROS program (short for High Resolution Optical Satellite System) will be up and running as early as 2012. And by "high resolution," they mean really high resolution: The satellites will be able to identify objects that are just 1.5 feet long.

The WikiLeaks cables revealed that the satellites can also take infrared images at night and transmit them to earth stations faster than current technology

The cables quote German diplomats saying they no longer want to be “outmaneuvered by France.” As for the U.S., the State Department declined to comment.

WikiLeaks: China's Politburo Ordered Cyber Attacks on Google?

The latest round of WikiLeaks' leaked cables contained some compelling information about the People’s Republic of China. The cables alleged that officials on the politburo’s standing committee may have ordered the cyber-attacks on Google that occurred in the beginning of this year.

On Tueday, China said it hoped revelations in U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks would not affect ties with Washington.

"It is ridiculous and not worth mentioning," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at regular news conference. "We hope they will not affect bilateral ties with the United States."

"The Chinese government’s ability to say one thing earnestly while everyone knows it’s doing the exact opposite fascinates me," wrote Laura Williams, a blogger for Security Products magazine.

Read the rest of her fascinating blog here.

WikiLeaks: China is Lightyears Ahead in Tech Innovation

Hidden among several hundred thousand government cables leaked by WikiLeaks last week comes fascinating insight into China's amazing technology research.

In the biometrics field, Chinese researchers are developing technology that can identify an individual by their footsteps:

The Chinese Academy of Science Institute of Intelligent Machines ... has developed a biometrics device that uses a person’s pace to identify them. The device measure weight and two-dimensional sheer forces applied by a person’s foot during walking to create a uniquely identifiable biometrics profile.

The device can be covertly installed in a floor and is able to collect biometrics data on individuals covertly without their knowledge. When questioned about the device’s potential applications, IIM officials stated the device was being used by “secret” customers and was not available on the commercial market.

In other news, a cable reveals that Chinese researchers are chasing the holy grail of energy: fusion power. And in 2009, they made significant progress by successfully maintaining a 10-million degree Celsius plasma nuclear fusion reaction for 400 seconds. (European researchers have maxed their device out at five seconds.)

Finally, another cable indicated that officials in China are aggressively chasing quantum teleportation and cryptography with the hopes of achieving "totally secure communication." (And, probably, the ability to hack it.)

WikiLeaks Divulges Most Sensitive Information to Date

WikiLeaks has released the most sensitive data to date: a global list of more than a hundred infrastructure sites that the United States considers vital for national security. These sites, if attacked, could disrupt the global supply chain and global communications, as well as goods and services critical to the U.S. economy.

Although the facilities and their locations are not secret, British and U.S. authorities call their release grossly irresponsible.

The blogsphere has called WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange everything from a First Amendment hero to a criminal.

WikiLeaks has divulged information about:

• Fears that terrorists may acquire Pakistani nuclear material
• Several Arab leaders urged attack on Iran over nuclear issue
• U.S. instructs spying on key UN officials
• China's changing ties with North Korea
• Yemen approved US strikes on militants
• Personal and embarrassing comments on world leaders
• Afghan leader Hamid Karzai freed dangerous detainees
• Russia is a "virtual mafia state" with widespread corruption and bribery
• Afghan President Hamid Karzai is "paranoid and weak"
• The extent of corruption in Afghanistan
• Chinese leadership "hacked Google"

What's your take on WikiLeaks?