Wikileaks Says Aaron Swartz Was a Possible Source

In a series of tweets, Wikileaks claimed Saturday that late Internet activist and hacker Aaron Swartz was an ally and possible source for the organization.

It also disclosed that Swartz, who committed suicide last week, was "in communication" with founder Julian Assange during 2010 and 2011.

Wikileaks, which exposes classified information provided by anonymous sources, said it decided to reveal these details in light of the U.S. Secret Service's involvement in Swartz's case. At the time of his death, Swartz was awaiting trial for allegedly harvesting millions of scholarly articles over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's network. He was charged with computer fraud and other crimes in July 2011, and faced up to 35 years in prison.

Due to the investigation into the Secret Service involvement with #AaronSwartz we have decided to disclose the following facts (1-3) — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 19, 2013

The Secret Service took over Swartz's case two days prior to his arrest, according The Verge.

Although Wikileaks doesn't elaborate on its decision, the organization has a policy of maintaining anonymity for its sources.

"As far as we can ascertain, Wikileaks has never revealed any of its sources," according to its website. "We cannot provide details about the security of our media organization or its anonymous drop box for sources because to do so would help those who would like to compromise the security of our organization and its sources."

Check out Wikileaks' tweets about Swartz, below:

1. Aaron Swartz assisted WikiLeaks #aaronwartz (1/3) — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 19, 2013 2. Aaron Swartz was in communication with Julian Assange, including during 2010 and 2011 — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 19, 2013 3. We have strong reasons to believe, but cannot prove, that Aaron Swartz was a WikiLeaks source. #aaronswartz — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 19, 2013

[via The Verge]

Image courtesy of Flickr, ragesoss