7 ms·

Easy way to narrow down who is leaking eh? Always thought that’s the best way to narrow down the leaks. Give variations of info to subgroups, and target the gr

Easy way to narrow down who is leaking eh? Always thought that’s the best way to narrow down the leaks. Give variations of info to subgroups, and target the group based on which variant was leaked.

greedo 9y ago
Tom Clancy called it the Canary Trap. Each document had very slight differences, and were tracked to each recipient so leaks could be found.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Also commonly used in digital watermarks: each copy has an unique variation.
  - erichurkman 9y ago
    See also inserting zero-width characters in text that don't show when you copy and paste: https://medium.com/@umpox/be-careful-what-you-copy-invisibly-inserting-usernames-into-text-with-zero-width-characters-18b4e6f17b66 https://medium.com/@umpox/be-careful-what-you-copy-invisibly...
    - jlebrech 9y ago
      zero width is a good idea as engineers are less likely to leak info as they livelihood is affected by them, unless they are already trying to jump ship.
- jlgaddis 9y ago
  Thanks, that's the first time I've heard the term. Apparently Elon Musk tried this same technique at Tesla but "it backfired hilariously on the brilliant entrepreneur" [0,1]. According to Wikipedia [0]: > After a series of leaks at Tesla Motors in 2008, CEO Elon Musk reportedly sent slightly different versions of an e-mail to each employee in an attempt to reveal potential leakers. The e-mail was disguised as a request to employees to sign a new non-disclosure agreement. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_trap#Known_canary_trap_cases https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_trap#Known_canary_trap_... [1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20131020092330/http://gawker.com/5164035/tesla-ceo-in-digital-witch-hunt https://web.archive.org/web/20131020092330/http://gawker.com...
personlurking 9y ago
There was a somewhat interesting ELI5 on Reddit the other day about leaked films, with people on the production and distrubution side explaining how things work so that leaks are prevented. Here are a few of the interesting bits: Watermarks https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/eli5_why_it_isnt_common_for_films_to_leak_early/dw7c1hp/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e... NDAs https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/eli5_why_it_isnt_common_for_films_to_leak_early/dw7c1hp/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e... Splitting films in reels https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/eli5_why_it_isnt_common_for_films_to_leak_early/dw7oj98/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e...
jlgaddis 9y ago
As I was reading the memo in TFA, I thought "I wonder if this memo has slight differences in it based upon who is viewing it". Specifically, I noted one place where I thought a comma should normally have been. Perhaps it's "paranoia", but it seemed like that is one possible "variation" that could have been used. I don't know how many Apple employees would view this memo (it seems unlikely that all ~135,000 would) but it doesn't seem like it would take very many slight differences like this to be able to generate a unique version of this memo for each viewer. At that point, Apple just has to sit back and wait for the memo to leak. Compare the version of the memo posted in TFA to the "unique versions" rendered to the employees and you've either identified the leaker or, at the very least, significantly narrowed down the possibilities. If Bloomberg were being careful, they would attempt to obtain copies of the memo from multiple "leakers" and compare them very carefully before publishing, making sure to look for these minute differences between them. If any were found, they'd have to be very diligent when posting the memo for all the world to see -- if they were being careful and if they cared about protecting the leaker's identity (one would assume they do but I think it'd be safe to assume there's a limit to how far they're willing to go). Regardless, it's pretty clear that this is a huge attempt by Apple to deter any leakers or potential leakers from doing so.
- walrus01 9y ago
  > As I was reading the memo in TFA, I thought "I wonder if this memo has slight differences in it based upon who is viewing it". > Specifically, I noted one place where I thought a comma should normally have been. Perhaps it's "paranoia", but it seemed like that is one possible "variation" that could have been used. This is one of the methods taught in "counterintelligence 101" type classes at intel agencies. Create something hot and surprising, salt it with specific phrases, grammar or punctuation, and then leak it into a number of different compartments. If you have access to where the intel is leaking to, obtain a copy after it gets leaked, and figure out which of your compartments it came from.
  - lifeformed 9y ago
    If people are aware of this, what if someone finds the variations, and modifies the document and then leaks it, framing someone else for the leak?

Easy way to narrow down who is leaking eh? Always thought that’s the best way to narrow down the leaks. Give variations of info to subgroups, and target the group based on which variant was leaked.

greedo 9y ago

Tom Clancy called it the Canary Trap. Each document had very slight differences, and were tracked to each recipient so leaks could be found.

icebraining 9y ago
Also commonly used in digital watermarks: each copy has an unique variation.
- erichurkman 9y ago
  See also inserting zero-width characters in text that don't show when you copy and paste: https://medium.com/@umpox/be-careful-what-you-copy-invisibly-inserting-usernames-into-text-with-zero-width-characters-18b4e6f17b66 https://medium.com/@umpox/be-careful-what-you-copy-invisibly...
  - jlebrech 9y ago
    zero width is a good idea as engineers are less likely to leak info as they livelihood is affected by them, unless they are already trying to jump ship.
jlgaddis 9y ago
Thanks, that's the first time I've heard the term. Apparently Elon Musk tried this same technique at Tesla but "it backfired hilariously on the brilliant entrepreneur" [0,1]. According to Wikipedia [0]: > After a series of leaks at Tesla Motors in 2008, CEO Elon Musk reportedly sent slightly different versions of an e-mail to each employee in an attempt to reveal potential leakers. The e-mail was disguised as a request to employees to sign a new non-disclosure agreement. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_trap#Known_canary_trap_cases https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_trap#Known_canary_trap_... [1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20131020092330/http://gawker.com/5164035/tesla-ceo-in-digital-witch-hunt https://web.archive.org/web/20131020092330/http://gawker.com...

personlurking 9y ago

There was a somewhat interesting ELI5 on Reddit the other day about leaked films, with people on the production and distrubution side explaining how things work so that leaks are prevented. Here are a few of the interesting bits: Watermarks https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/eli5_why_it_isnt_common_for_films_to_leak_early/dw7c1hp/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e... NDAs https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/eli5_why_it_isnt_common_for_films_to_leak_early/dw7c1hp/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e... Splitting films in reels https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/eli5_why_it_isnt_common_for_films_to_leak_early/dw7oj98/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e...

jlgaddis 9y ago

As I was reading the memo in TFA, I thought "I wonder if this memo has slight differences in it based upon who is viewing it". Specifically, I noted one place where I thought a comma should normally have been. Perhaps it's "paranoia", but it seemed like that is one possible "variation" that could have been used. I don't know how many Apple employees would view this memo (it seems unlikely that all ~135,000 would) but it doesn't seem like it would take very many slight differences like this to be able to generate a unique version of this memo for each viewer. At that point, Apple just has to sit back and wait for the memo to leak. Compare the version of the memo posted in TFA to the "unique versions" rendered to the employees and you've either identified the leaker or, at the very least, significantly narrowed down the possibilities. If Bloomberg were being careful, they would attempt to obtain copies of the memo from multiple "leakers" and compare them very carefully before publishing, making sure to look for these minute differences between them. If any were found, they'd have to be very diligent when posting the memo for all the world to see -- if they were being careful and if they cared about protecting the leaker's identity (one would assume they do but I think it'd be safe to assume there's a limit to how far they're willing to go). Regardless, it's pretty clear that this is a huge attempt by Apple to deter any leakers or potential leakers from doing so.

walrus01 9y ago
> As I was reading the memo in TFA, I thought "I wonder if this memo has slight differences in it based upon who is viewing it". > Specifically, I noted one place where I thought a comma should normally have been. Perhaps it's "paranoia", but it seemed like that is one possible "variation" that could have been used. This is one of the methods taught in "counterintelligence 101" type classes at intel agencies. Create something hot and surprising, salt it with specific phrases, grammar or punctuation, and then leak it into a number of different compartments. If you have access to where the intel is leaking to, obtain a copy after it gets leaked, and figure out which of your compartments it came from.
- lifeformed 9y ago
  If people are aware of this, what if someone finds the variations, and modifies the document and then leaks it, framing someone else for the leak?