Leaked Chats Reveal DataCell’s Secret WikiLeaks Support
In 2011, the company DataCell supported WikiLeaks by facilitating the acceptance of donations when other financial channels had been blocked. That summer, a leak revealed chat exchanges between Ólafur Sigurvinsson (a director of DataCell and an Icelandic businessman) and Sigurdur Thordarson (an FBI informant in the case against WikiLeaks). The messages discussed the resumption of payments for WikiLeaks, dealings with LulzSec hackers, and a proposal to hack the emails of two Icelandic politicians.
It was later revealed that the conflict with Icelandic authorities began in 2011, after the government refused DataCell’s request to lease the former headquarters of Landsnet, opting instead to sell it to the Ministry of Finance. This decision aroused suspicion in WikiLeaks and DataCell, who saw it as an attempt to hinder their activities.
WikiLeaks head Kristinn Hrafnsson wrote to the Minister of Industry, Katrín Júlíusdóttir, expressing concern that the Icelandic state company might be aiding forces seeking to harm WikiLeaks. Sigurvinsson, in an interview, also speculated that the Icelandic government feared allowing WikiLeaks to operate within the country.
That summer, Thordarson began communicating with Jake Davis, a member of the hacker group Anonymous, known as Topiary. Soon after, they established the IRC chat #icelulz, where they planned cyberattacks on Icelandic government institutions. These actions were not linked to the interactions between Thordarson and Sigurvinsson but developed concurrently.
On July 5, Sigurvinsson reconnected with Thordarson through an encrypted chat. They discussed recruiting hackers to test the security of various companies for a television project designed to demonstrate how easily corporate systems could be breached. Sigurvinsson mentioned he was already collaborating with two hackers from Chaos Computer Club.
During their conversation, Sigurvinsson unexpectedly suggested creating “a little chaos” by hacking the email of Iceland’s Minister of Finance, Sigfússon. Thordarson hinted that the Icelandic government would soon face attacks. Sigurvinsson also requested access to Katrín Júlíusdóttir’s email, suggesting there might be evidence of corruption.
The discussion also touched on the fact that the payment system Valitor had begun processing donations for DataCell and WikiLeaks. Although Sigurvinsson viewed this as a victory, in practice, fewer than 100 payments were processed. According to another co-founder of DataCell, Andreas Fink, there had been significantly more donations.
Thordarson further informed Sigurvinsson of his collaboration with the hacker group LulzSec and promised to soon provide access to Katrín Júlíusdóttir’s email. Later, Ólafur Sigurvinsson became an official representative of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, and he also played a role in assisting Edward Snowden in escaping from the United States.
