In a press release on Pastebin, WikiLeaks said it was publishing the Global Intelligence Files, which include more than 5 million emails from Stratfor. The emails date from July 2004 to late December 2011.
“They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods”, said WikiLeaks.
While WikiLeaks did not name the source of the information, it is no doubt LulzSec, which said it had hacked into Stratfor in December. LulzSec claimed that it hacked into Stratfor’s network and stole 4,000 credit card numbers and other personal information of the company’s “private clients” and used the information to make charitable contributions.
Reacting to the WikiLeaks publication, George Friedman, found and chief executive officer of Stratfor, commented: “The release of these emails is...a direct attack on Stratfor. This is another attempt to silence and intimidate the company, and one we reject.”