WikiLeaks Issues ‘Torrent Insurance’ Encrypted File With Dead-Man’s Switch

WikiLeaks has issued an encrypted file for download as a kind of “torrent insurance” ahead of its public release of potentially damning documents. As previously discussed on Inquisitr, Guccifer 2.0’s hack of the DNC servers have already revealed possible collusion between the Hillary Clinton campaign, the mainstream media, and Democratic Party leadership.

While the DNC has neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of these preliminary releases, WikiLeaks’s torrent insurance prior to the actual document dump could indicate the presence of damaging evidence on Clinton, and possibly even the Obama administration.

Famed government whistleblower Edward Snowden tweeted out a message regarding the data breach, noting its significance for more than just the documents themselves.

“Significance is more than docs. Hacktivists, possibly state-sponsored, now demonstrating intent — and capability — to influence elections.”

Whether Snowden is referring to what is called a “false flag,” with fake information, or to a hacker revealing state secrets in order to bring a reviled candidate down is unclear. If Guccifer 2.0 is, indeed, a Russian hacker as tech firm CrowdStrike has indicated, it could have serious repercussions on a global scale. It could also result in a backlash against Clinton and the DNC for failing to secure their email transmissions.

Protect our coming publications. Torrent WIKILEAKS INSURANCE 2016-06-03 (88 Gb encrypted) https://t.co/j4V8NH2Xmn pic.twitter.com/wwc9Pe0e0J

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 17, 2016

The pre-release “torrent insurance” is currently encrypted and unreadable, but the file WikiLeaks issued evidently comes with what is called a dead-man’s switch. What this means is, if the U.S. federal government attempts to stop the data dump, the torrent insurance file has a key that is automatically activated under the right circumstances. Therefore, if the data dump does not occur on schedule, everyone who had downloaded the torrent insurance file would be automatically issued a key to unlock the file.

Speculation still surrounds the veracity of the Guccifer 2.0 documents, but WikiLeaks is known for its adherence to facts and truth. If the organization deems those documents unverifiable or fake, they will likely refrain from publishing them. If the documents are verified as originating with the DNC or anyone closely linked to it, they could be included in the data dump Julian Assange has said will come soon.

While mainstream media is keeping mum on the release of the torrent insurance, the internet is buzzing with theories and speculation. While the organization puts the dump at 88 gigabytes of data, users are reporting it is actually larger. This would make it bigger than the 2010 data dump, which leaked more than 250,000 U.S. government documents extending back to the mid-1960s. According to data storage firm Catalyst, an average of 3,124 documents are contained in one gigabyte as of 2014. WikiLeaks’s 94.09 gigabyte data torrent insurance file, then, may have more than 293,000 documents, which would make it the biggest leak in the organization’s history.

The upcoming document dump from WikiLeaks, as Snowden has theorized, could be an extremely big story, and not just pertaining to the upcoming presidential election. As in previous years, it could reveal government secrets, connections between government donations and policies, or conspiracies to overthrow governments.

Even if damning evidence emerges that would be cause for immediate arrest and indictment for most other people, Assange does not believe Hillary Clinton will be indicted. According to The Guardian, Assange noted that Loretta Lynch will be reluctant to do her job.

“She’s not going to indict Hillary Clinton, that’s not possible. It’s not going to happen. But the FBI can push for concessions from a Clinton government.”

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch was originally appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York by President Bill Clinton in 1999, so her relationship with the Clintons goes back at least 17 years.

Clinton has consistently denied that she did anything wrong pertaining to her email server. And more recently, has ignored the Guccifer 2.0 DNC hack. If, however, the WikiLeaks file dump contains incriminating evidence of government wrongdoing while she was Secretary of State, or if the files contain evidence of a rigged Democratic primary race, it could cast a dark shadow on her quest for the White House.

*This article was corrected to reflect the actual size of the file from 88GB to 94.09GB.

[Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Images]