Central Intelligence Agency hackers targeted iPhones and TVs with ‘weaponised’ viruses, Wikileaks claims

The organization, headed by Julian Assange, has nicknamed the trove of documents “Vault 7“.

If the documents turn out to be genuine they represent another massive breach of security for the USA intelligence community. There is no proof that the hacking tools have actually been used with the permission of the United States government and no evidence that the tools are capable of doing what they are claimed to do. It’s a leak that’s essentially Snowden 2.0.

WikiLeaks explains how the “CIA’s hacking division” – or the Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI) as it is officially known – has produced thousands of weaponized pieces of malware, Trojans, viruses and other tools. The NSA is the USA government’s main electronic spy organisation.

Secondly, WikiLeaks has asserted that it has not mined the entire leak and has only verified it, asking that journalists and activists do the leg work.

Samsung did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

Spicer said leaks “undermine our well being”.

There is certainly questionable timing to the release.

WikiLeaks has been tied to Russian security agencies by USA intelligence services, a claim the group denies. The targeting of smart TVs has garnered attention. We’ve included tips on how to shore up security on these devices as well.

“It’s interesting how there’s a double standard with when the leaks occur, how much outrage there is”, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, adding, “I think it’s interesting how different subjects are approached”. “After infestation, [the hacking program] places the target TV in a “Fake-Off” mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on”. The app makers also advice consumers to not use rooted or jailbroken devices, and install various security software required to keep malware at bay.

“We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter”.

Apple spoke up on Tuesday evening that most of the vulnerabilities described in the Vault 7 data dump were patched in the newest version of iOS. BuzzFeed reporter John Paczkowski tweeted Apple’s statement that read, “Apple is deeply committed to safeguarding our customers’ privacy and security”.

We’ll update this story as details continue to unfold.

It also shows a number of methods for how they deployed implants, went after security technology and more.

By infecting and effectively taking over the software of smartphones, WikiLeaks said, the Central Intelligence Agency can get around the encryption technologies of popular apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Weibo and Confide by collecting communications before they are encrypted. It has tons of local and remote zero-days that are developed by other agencies like FBI, NSA, and GCHQ.

WikiLeaks’ source is ostensibly releasing the info to foster a public debate over the possibility that the CIA’s hacking abilities “exceed its mandated powers”, its oversight and the problems of creating cyberweapons that can escape into the wild. If you vehicle gets software updates, ensure that it always has the latest one.

Wikileaks says numerous hacking tools described in Vault 7 were made unclassified to skirt rules on posting classified information to the internet-most of the CIA’s malware requires the use of the internet for communication.