• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

3

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

3

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
TechSurveillance

WikiLeaks Just Published ‘Mostly Highly Classified Documents’ About NSA Bugs

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 23, 2016, 6:52 AM ET
SWITZERLAND-BRITAIN-SWEDEN-ECUADOR-US-RIGHTS-ASSANGE
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen on a screen speaking via web cast from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London during an event on the sideline of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council session on March 23, 2015 in Geneva. Assange took refuge in June 2012 in the Ecuadorian Embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of rape and sexual molestation, which he strongly denies. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI (Photo credit should read FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Fabrice Coffrini — AFP/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks operation has published a series of secret documents about the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) bugging foreign leaders. It claims some of them are “the most highly classified documents ever published by a media organization.”

The documents, covered in news stories in a range of publications, show the NSA bugged a range of high-level conversations, including talks between German chancellor Angela Merkel and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on the issue of climate change. The NSA also spied on the French and Italian premiers and their aides.

The WikiLeaks cache includes a series of redacted phone numbers for the bugging targets, that show up as so-called selectors. This generally denotes the search terms that intelligence analysts will use to find what they want in data that has been intercepted in bulk.

The issue of the NSA spying on Merkel is, of course, not new — in 2013’s flurry of revelations about the agency, it caused great outrage in Berlin and embarrassment in Washington.

“Today we showed that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s private meetings over how to save the planet from climate change were bugged by a country intent on protecting its largest oil companies,” said Assange. “The U.S. government has signed agreements with the UN that it will not engage in such conduct against the UN — let alone its secretary-general.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

The spy agency also reported on 2010 conversations between Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the subject of patching up Israel’s relationship with the U.S.

French prime minister Nicolas Sarkozy is shown in the documents to have pressured Berlusconi in 2011 over Italy’s finances, claiming that its banks could soon “pop” like a champagne cork. As l’Espresso notes, this revelation revisits questions around why Berlusconi had to step down that year.

WikiLeaks also noted that the documents show the NSA spied on the head of the UN refugee agency.

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

Current price of Ethereum for July 22, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for July 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 22, 2026
30 minutes ago
Doug Proctor (left) and Nick Perry (right)
Startups & VentureTerm Sheet
Candid Health raises $120 million to take on America’s $280 billion medical billing mess
By Lily Mae LazarusJuly 22, 2026
2 hours ago
Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue (center) on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
OpenAI: Our models accidentally compromised Hugging Face
By Andrew NuscaJuly 22, 2026
2 hours ago
Sam Altman and Jony Ive formed a dream team to reinvent hardware. Now it’s at the center of a battle for OpenAI’s future
Big TechOpenAI
Sam Altman and Jony Ive formed a dream team to reinvent hardware. Now it’s at the center of a battle for OpenAI’s future
By Emily Forlini and Sebastian HerreraJuly 22, 2026
4 hours ago
After SpaceX’s $2 trillion debut, investors are eyeing Anthropic and OpenAI. Market experts share how to play the next trillion-dollar IPO
MagazineIPOs
After SpaceX’s $2 trillion debut, investors are eyeing Anthropic and OpenAI. Market experts share how to play the next trillion-dollar IPO
By Amanda GerutJuly 22, 2026
4 hours ago
Panera founder and Cava chairman Ron Shaich bets $100 million on Level99, bringing his restaurant industry playbook to entertainment
C-SuiteFood and drink
Panera founder and Cava chairman Ron Shaich bets $100 million on Level99, bringing his restaurant industry playbook to entertainment
By Catherina GioinoJuly 22, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
Cybersecurity
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
By Jeremy Kahn and Emily ForliniJuly 21, 2026
15 hours ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
AI
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
18 hours ago
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
Success
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
By Emma BurleighJuly 21, 2026
20 hours ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
4 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.