WikiLeaks’ release of thousands of CIA documents that it said reveals the US spy agency’s hacking secrets further exposes the US government’s surveillance programs.
The anti-secrecy website said the covert hacking program taps into Google’s Android, Apple’s iPhone and Microsoft’s Windows and even Samsung TVs, which can be turned into covert microphones.
WikiLeaks posted nearly 9,000 documents on Tuesday it said were leaked from the Central Intelligence Agency, in what it described as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence materials.
It said the trove of documents “appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorised manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive”.
Jonathan Liu, a spokesman for the CIA, said: “We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents.
Experts who have started to sift through the material said that it appeared legitimate and that the release was almost certain to shake the CIA.
The leak, named “Vault 7 by WikiLeaks, claims the CIA developed a malware to infect mobile phones to allow easier surveillance – but lost control of the technology. If the CIA really lost control of the technology, hackers worldwide could use the programme to steal data.
Matthew Green, professor of computer science, said hat “ordinary people” should not be worried about the revelations.
“What I would perhaps worry about is that some of this might get into the hands of very sophisticated criminal organisations or foreign governments and be used in a very targeted way against activists or human rights workers,” he said.
WikiLeaks said the documents show that the CIA is rivalling the National Security Agency (NSA), the US government’s main electronic spying body, in cyber warfare, but with less oversight.
WikiLeaks said the documents show the CIA has produced more than 1,000 malware systems – viruses, trojans, and other software that can infiltrate and take control of target electronics.
These hacking tools have targeted iPhones, Android systems such as the kind of personal phone reportedly still used by President Donald Trump, popular Microsoft software and Samsung smart TVs, which can be transformed into covert microphones, according to WikiLeaks.
The agency has also examined hacking into the electronic control systems on cars and trucks, potentially making it able to control them.
By infecting smartphones, WikiLeaks said, the CIA can get around the encryption technologies of popular apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, and Confide by collecting communications before they are encrypted. – Al Jazeera.
