Dotcom: Obama Admitted “Mistakes Were Made” in Megaupload Case

Kim Dotcom is claiming that an associate was able to hire a friend of the Obamas to ask about the Megaupload case. “Mistakes were made. It hasn’t gone well. It’s a problem. I’ll see to it after the election,” Barack Obama reportedly said. With Obama due to land in New Zealand next month, Dotcom says he’ll have a court subpoena waiting for the former president.

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When Megaupload was forcefully shut down in 2012, it initially appeared like ‘just’ another wave of copyright enforcement action by US authorities.

When additional details began to filter through, the reality of what had happened was nothing short of extraordinary.

Not only were large numbers of Megaupload servers and millions of dollars seized, but Kim Dotcom’s home in New Zealand was subjected to a military-style raid comprised of helicopters and dozens of heavily armed special tactics police. The whole thing was monitored live by the FBI.

Few people who watched the events of that now-infamous January day unfold came to the conclusion this was a routine copyright-infringement case. According to Kim Dotcom, whose life had just been turned upside down, something of this scale must’ve filtered down from the very top of the US government. It was hard to disagree.

At the time, Dotcom told TorrentFreak that then-Vice President Joe Biden directed attorney Neil MacBride to target the cloud storage site and ever since the Megaupload founder has leveled increasingly serious allegations at officials of the former government of Barack Obama.

For example, Dotcom says that since the US would have difficulty gaining access to him in his former home of Hong Kong, the government of New Zealand was persuaded to welcome him in, knowing they would eventually turn him over to the United States. More recently he’s been turning up the pressure again, such as a tweet on February 20th which cast more light on that process.

“Joe Biden had a White House meeting with an ‘extradition expert’ who worked for Hong Kong police and a handful of Hollywood executives to discuss my case. A week prior to this meeting Neil MacBride hand-delivered his action plan to Biden’s chief of staff, also at the White House,” Dotcom wrote.

But this claim is just the tip of an extremely large iceberg that’s involved illegal spying on Dotcom in New Zealand and a dizzying array of legal battles that are set to go on for years to come. But perhaps of most interest now is that rather than wilting away under the pressure, Dotcom appears to be just warming up.

A few hours ago Dotcom commented on an article published in The Hill which revealed that Barack Obama will visit New Zealand in March, possibly to celebrate the opening of Air New Zealand’s new route to the U.S.

Rather than expressing disappointment, the Megaupload founder seemed pleased that the former president would be touching down next month.

“Great. I’ll have a Court subpoena waiting for him in New Zealand,” Dotcom wrote.

But that was just a mere hors d’oeuvre, with the main course was yet to come. But come it did.

“A wealthy Asian Megaupload shareholder hired a friend of the Obamas to enquire about our case. This person was recommended by a member of the Chinese politburo ‘if you want to get to Obama directly’. We did,” Dotcom revealed.

Dotcom says he’ll release a transcript detailing what Obama told his friend on March 21 when Obama arrives in town but in the meantime, he offered another little taster.

“Mistakes were made. It hasn’t gone well,” Obama reportedly told the person reporting back to Megaupload. “It’s a problem. I’ll see to it after the election.”

Of course, Obama’s position after the election was much different to what had gone before, but that didn’t stop Dotcom’s associates infiltrating the process aimed at keeping the Democrats in power.

“Our friendly Obama contact smuggled an @EFF lawyer into a re-election fundraiser hosted by former Vice President Joe Biden,” he revealed.

“When Biden was asked about the Megaupload case he bragged that it was his case and that he ‘took care of it’,” which is what Dotcom has been claiming all along.

On March 21, when Obama lands in New Zealand, Dotcom says he’ll be waiting.

“I’m looking forward to @BarackObama providing some insight into the political dimension of the Megaupload case when he arrives in the New Zealand jurisdiction,” he teased.

Better get the popcorn ready….

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Mobile-Games-Auslese: Abfahrten, Verliebtheit und Kartenkerker

Wer tolle Spiele abseits der seelenlosen Free-to-Play-Titel sucht, sollte ein wenig Geld ausgeben – einige Mobile Games der vergangenen Wochen sind es wert. Wir empfehlen: Snowboarden in der Wüste, schwerelose Action und das kleinste Civilization der W…

Wer tolle Spiele abseits der seelenlosen Free-to-Play-Titel sucht, sollte ein wenig Geld ausgeben - einige Mobile Games der vergangenen Wochen sind es wert. Wir empfehlen: Snowboarden in der Wüste, schwerelose Action und das kleinste Civilization der Welt. Von Rainer Sigl (Mobile Games, Spieletest)

Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray sales stats for the week ending February 17, 2018

The results and analysis for DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray sales for the week ending February 17, 2018 are in. A great little film with some big stars and an even bigger heart was the week’s top selling new release (and overall top seller). Find ou…



The results and analysis for DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray sales for the week ending February 17, 2018 are in. A great little film with some big stars and an even bigger heart was the week's top selling new release (and overall top seller). Find out which movie it is in our weekly DVD,Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray sales stats and analysis feature.

Mission E: Porsche will Händler mit 800V-Schnellladestationen ausrüsten

Porsches Elektrosportwagen Mission E soll sich auch ohne Verbrennungsmotor wie ein echter Porsche anfühlen. Händler bekommen 800V-Schnellladestationen. In 20 Minuten soll Strom für eine Reichweite von 400 km im Akku sein. (Elektroauto, Technologie)

Porsches Elektrosportwagen Mission E soll sich auch ohne Verbrennungsmotor wie ein echter Porsche anfühlen. Händler bekommen 800V-Schnellladestationen. In 20 Minuten soll Strom für eine Reichweite von 400 km im Akku sein. (Elektroauto, Technologie)

Keine Investition: Bosch steigt aus Akkuzellforschung aus

Bosch hat sich trotz des Engagements in der Elektromobilität gegen eine eigene Akkuzellenproduktion entschieden. Auch die Forschung für bessere Akkuzellen will das Unternehmen zurückfahren oder verkaufen. (Bosch, Technologie)

Bosch hat sich trotz des Engagements in der Elektromobilität gegen eine eigene Akkuzellenproduktion entschieden. Auch die Forschung für bessere Akkuzellen will das Unternehmen zurückfahren oder verkaufen. (Bosch, Technologie)

Datenschutz: BVG-Webseite verrät Besucher-IPs und Mailadressen

Bei den Berliner Verkehrsbetrieben ist die Status-Seite des Apache-Webservers offen einsehbar gewesen, wie Golem.de entdeckt hat. Dort zu sehen gab es IP-Adressen von Webseitenbesuchern und E-Mail-Adressen von Kundenaccounts. Von Hanno Böck (BVG, Apach…

Bei den Berliner Verkehrsbetrieben ist die Status-Seite des Apache-Webservers offen einsehbar gewesen, wie Golem.de entdeckt hat. Dort zu sehen gab es IP-Adressen von Webseitenbesuchern und E-Mail-Adressen von Kundenaccounts. Von Hanno Böck (BVG, Apache)

Cellebrite can unlock any iPhone (for some values of “any”)

Forensics contractor’s “Advanced Unlocking Service” still has to brute-force passcodes.

Enlarge (credit: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Cellebrite, the Israel-based forensics company that has been a key source for law enforcement in efforts to crack the security of mobile devices to recover evidence, has reportedly found a way to unlock Apple devices using all versions of the iOS operating system up to version 11.2.6, the most recent update pushed out to customers by Apple. The capability is part of Cellebrite's Advanced Unlocking and Extraction Services, a lab-based service the company provides to law enforcement agencies—not a software product.

But security experts are dubious of any claim that Cellebrite can defeat the encryption used by iOS to protect the contents of Apple devices. Rather, they suggest Cellebrite's "Advanced Unlocking Services" may have found a way to bypass the limits on PIN or password entry enforced by interfering with the code that counts the number of failed attempts—allowing the company's lab to launch a brute-force attack to try to discover the passcode without fear of the device erasing its cryptographic key and rendering the phone unreadable. With a sufficiently secure password, it would be nearly impossible for the technique to recover the contents of the device.

Forbes' Thomas Fox-Brewster reports that a Cellebrite spokesperson confirmed the claim, first found in leaked Cellebrite marketing material, stating that "Cellebrite can retrieve (without needing to root or jailbreak the device) the full file system to recover downloaded emails, third-party application data, geolocation data and system logs. Agencies can either provide the device already unlocked, furnish the known passcode, or use Cellebrite’s Advanced Unlocking Services to unlock the device."

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Bill Gates says cryptocurrencies have “caused deaths in a fairly direct way”

Gates says cryptocurrencies’ main feature is anonymity.

Enlarge / Bill Gates answering questions on Reddit in 2013. (credit: Bill Gates)

Microsoft and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation progenitor Bill Gates is not a fan of cryptocurrencies. In a Reddit AMA yesterday, he posited that crypto subverts governments' abilities to intercept terrorist funding, illegal drug transactions, and more.

Redditor Askur1337 asked Gates, "Whats your opinion on Crypto Currencies?" To this, Gates responded:

The main feature of cryptocurrencies is their anonymity. I don't think this is a good thing. The government's ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. Right now crypto urrencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way. I think the speculative wave around ICOs and cryptocurrencies is super risky for those who go long.

Redditor dikkepiemel followed up with a rebuttal that cryptocurrencies aren't doing anything cash wasn't already doing, saying, "The US dollar is also used to buy fentanyl and god knows what else." Gates replied once more:

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