[wccrawford]

We can crack things today that were considered impossible (aka "not in our lifetime") 10 years ago. Why would anyone think that 10 more years wouldn't bring this again? Quantum computing is looking more and more likely, with progress almost every month now.

Sure, today they couldn't crack it... But this data has ramifications for many years to come. It should never have been gathered together and put in a public place.

Behind the government's firewalls, it was protected by an ever-changing system. If things get easier to crack, they can upgrade it. As a simple file, it can never be changed. It will also be there.

And finally, security experts will tell you that one of the easiest ways to crack something is the human factor. That password is written down somewhere, and wikileaks isn't a fort. Hackers could have gotten that password from wikileaks without them knowing.

So no, I don't think I do underestimate it.