WikiLeaks Has Collected CIA Hacking Tools; Was It Really Released On The Web?
The anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks has exposed thousands of files documenting the CIA's hacking weapons on Tuesday. The files appear to reveal the agency's scheme to transform televisions and cellphones into tools of espionage.
The latest revelation from WikiLeaks laid bare the system and efficiency of the U.S. intelligence community's highly-prized cyber weapons, a threat that would immediately devastate the CIA's plan to collect intel from overseas sources. It will also place unnecessary pressure on the government's relationship with major tech companies like Google and Apple according to the Washington Post.
The files were claimed by WikiLeaks to be gathered from a former CIA contractor which is almost the same in scope as the collection of documents exposed by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. The difference is that the Snowden files showed how the National Security Agency conducted surveillance programs on American citizens while the CIA files revealed hacking methods that were developed by the agency over the years.
In a report by Reuters, Stuart McClure, CEO of Cylance said that one of the most important revelations from the WikiLeaks files revealed how trained CIA hackers cover themselves by leaving behind electronic trails. These behavior suggest that that they are from China, Iran, Russia and the United States. McClure runs a cyber security firm in Irvine, California so he's very familiar with such hacking techniques.
WikiLeaks also revealed that the CIA has taken advantage of weaknesses that are known but not publicized. Google meanwhile said that it's currently probing the allegations that its Android platform was hacked by the agency.
Edward Snowden said on Twitter that the WikiLeaks files is the first public evidence that shows the U.S. government engages in buying software in order to exploit the current technology. The files that were released on the web lists various Apple iOS bought by the CIA.
