NZ Politics Daily: 7 June 2015 Page 1 of 309 NZ Politics Daily: 7 June 2015 Today’s content Ben Rachinger Lisa Owen (TV3): Slater accused of offering blog hack payment Laura Walters: Cameron Slater denies hacking allegations Tim Watkin (Pundit): Dirty Politics 2.0 Patrice Dougan (Herald): Right-wing blogger accused of paying off hacker Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Slater’s bizarre response to the allegations of hacking Pete George (Your NZ): Rachinger promises more Pete Geroge (Your NZ): Rachinger’s “I am Rawshark” tweet Pete George (Your NZ): The Standard’s ‘not Labour’ problem Frank Macskasy (Daily Blog): The Curious Case of Cameron Slater, the Hacker, and the unforgivable crime of stupidity Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Compare how long Slater’s complaint gets investigated to investigations against him Pete George (Your NZ): Rachinger tweets Slater statement on his claims Pete George (Your NZ): Slater talks to Fairfax, contradicts Pete George (Your NZ): Links on Ben Rachinger accusations Pete George (Your NZ): The Nation on Rachinger and Slater versus The Standard Pete George (Your NZ): Rachinger on The Nation? Matthew Dentith: Episode 49 – The @B3nRaching3r Allegations Pete George (Your NZ): Standard goes dirty on dirty politics? Pete George (Your NZ): Slater’s statement on Rachinger looks dirty Pete George (Your NZ): Serious accusations against Rachinger Greg Presland (The Standard): Cameron Slater’s statement on Ben Rachinger TV3: Andrew Little: 'Toxic' Cameron Slater not wanted in NZ politicsMartyn Bradbury: Could this really be the end of Cameron Slater? Matthew Dentith: The @B3nRaching3r Allegations – Part Four Matthew Dentith: The @B3nRaching3r Allegations – Part One Matthew Dentith: The @B3nRaching3r Allegations – Part Two Matthew Dentith: The @B3nRaching3r Allegations – Part Three Pete George: Rachinger tweeting again Pete George: Talking of explaining… Pete George: Lauda Finem versus The Standard Lauda Finem: The Rachinger Identity – Espionage thriller or just another bad outbreak of Streisand effect? Redbaiter: Rachinger’s rat’s nest- dirty politics meme gets new lease of life Pete George: Rachinger continues on Twitter Carrie Stoddart-Smith: The follow-up: The Rachinger posts The Standard: Rachinger on dirty politics 3 – Scoop takes up the story Alastair Thompson (Scoop): “I Am Rawshark” – Ben Rachinger’s sequel to Dirty Politics The Standard: Rachinger on dirty politics Compiled by Bryce Edwards NZ Politics Daily: 7 June 2015 Page 2 of 309 The Standard: Rachinger on dirty politics 2 Pete George (Your NZ): Prentice admits “fighting dirty politics” Carrie Stoddart-Smith: The Rachinger posts Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part One) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Two) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Three) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Four) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Five) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Six) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Seven) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Eight) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Nine) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Ten) Ben Rachinger: The Hacker and all the PMs men (Part Eleven) Redbaiter: Cameron Slater, Ben Rachinger, and hacking Pete George: Ben Rachinger versus Cameron Slater Pete George: Rachinger versus Slater continued Pete George: Rachinger story gets weirder but no more told Lauda Finem: The Rachinger Conspiracy – He was the perfect weapon until he became the target Compiled by Bryce Edwards NZ Politics Daily: 7 June 2015 Page 3 of 309 Lisa Owen (TV3): Slater accused of offering blog hack payment Saturday 6 Jun 2015 12:20 p.m. Police are investigating allegations that controversial WhaleOil blogger Cameron Slater paid a hacker thousands of dollars to break into a rival blog. It is online where IT consultant Ben Rachinger says he struck up a rapport and started digging dirt with Mr Slater, and where he alleges Mr Slater offered him $5000 to commit a cybercrime. "He asked me, 'I want you to focus on this job of getting into The Standard. What's a good number for you? I've got $5000 available for it'," he says. "Then we talked about what a work plan would be. He would not name the funder that was paying for the hack." FULL STORY: More Dirty Politics? Mr Slater was eager to find out which left-wingers wrote the anonymous blogs on the politics site. "His plan was to use the information to hit back at the Labour Party, and specifically Andrew Little, on the first day of Parliament in order to dampen the effects of the Dirty Politics book the year before," says Mr Rachinger. Using encrypted texts, Mr Slater messaged Mr Rachinger in January. "I want proof on admin of The Standard... I will destroy them," he says. Police have confirmed to 3 News that detectives are investigating an allegation that Mr Slater offered money in a bid to procure the hacking of a computer system. They say the investigation is a complex one and they are still gathering all the necessary information and a decision on charges is some way off. 3 News has obtained transcripts of hundreds of messages between Mr Rachinger and Mr Slater. "I think I can get you some scratch in a lump sum to concentrate on this… what's a good number that works for you," Mr Slater says in one text. "There is $5000 available," he says in another. Mr Rachinger replies: "Let's get it done." There is more discussion before this text from Mr Slater: "Prep me a work plan and deliverables… I'll go to the funder." Later that day Mr Rachinger sends Mr Slater the "work plan". Compiled by Bryce Edwards NZ Politics Daily: 7 June 2015 Page 4 of 309 Headed up as "Assignment", it talks about clarifying contributors to "x website" in an "untraceable but usable way". It notes to get hard information on targets requires "entry and exit to the network infrastructure" – meaning a hack, in plain English. Mr Rachinger says he did not do the hack, which is something the owner of The Standard has confirmed. Certified bank statements show Mr Slater's company, Social Media Co, paid Mr Rachinger $750 – a down payment Mr Rachinger claims for the hack. In total, Mr Slater paid the IT consultant more than $9000 in a three-month period. However a week later, cracks were showing, and Mr Rachinger texts: "It's no small thing that I'm doing an illegal activity for an unnamed client… and handing it off to you." "It's no small thing I am doing this, I could be being set up in a sting from a media person or cops," Mr Slater replies. 3 News approached Mr Slater for comment, but he declined to give an interview or provide a statement. However he did deny Mr Rachinger's claims that he commissioned the hack, calling him a liar and insisting he does not break the law. http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/slater-accused-of-offering-blog-hack- payment-2015060612#axzz3cMdqiWLX Compiled by Bryce Edwards NZ Politics Daily: 7 June 2015 Page 5 of 309 Patrice Dougan (Herald): Right-wing blogger accused of paying off hacker 2:00 PM Saturday Jun 6, 2015 Right-wing blogger Cameron Slater has been accused of paying a man to hack into an opposition website for political gain. In a statement provided to NZME. News Service, police confirmed they were investigating the claims, saying they had "received a complaint regarding an alleged attempt to procure the hacking of a computer system". "The complaint is being investigated by Counties Manukau CIB," the statement said. "There are a number of complexities to the investigation, including the posting online of documentation which has already compromised the investigation and is making our inquires more difficult. "Police are taking a cautious approach, and working through a number of complex steps to gather the necessary information to advance the enquiry. "Any decision on charges is some way off at this stage, and will be made after a thorough assessment of all relevant information." The controversial and outspoken political commentator denies the claims, but police have reportedly confirmed they are investigating the allegations made by Ben Rachinger. The IT consultant posted his claims on the internet earlier this year, and this morning The Nation broadcast an interview with him, detailing his claims Slater commissioned him to hack into left-wing political blog The Standard to try to uncover the identities of the authors of blogs written anonymously or under pseudonyms. "Cameron Slater asked me, for financial benefit, to hack into The Standard website and to pull out any and all information about authors of anonymous blog posts on The Standard and also to find out email addresses and IP addresses for further hacking," Mr Rachinger told TV's The Nation. Slater has long claimed blogs on The Standard are ghost written by Labour insiders, including staff members. In an encrypted text sent to Mr Rachinger in January, Slater allegedly said: "I want proof of admin at The Standard ... I will destroy them." He later allegedly said: "I want them all outed, all the MPs, [The Standard founder Lynn] Prentice, [Labour Party chief of staff Matt] McCarten ... all of them." Compiled by Bryce Edwards NZ Politics Daily: 7 June 2015 Page 6 of 309 Mr Rachinger says Slater asked him to "focus on this job of getting into The Standard", and said he had $5000 available to pay him to do so. But Slater would not name his backer, who was funding the hacking request.