WikiLeaks Dump Shows The CIA Has More Hacking Power Than We Thought

The Vault 7 files from WikiLeaks suggest that Android is highly susceptible to attack, but Google has nothing to say about this.

It appears at least some are real. There are also notes on a joint “workshop” with the UK’s MI5 on a project called “Weeping Angel“-in which the services were able to turn a Samsung smart television into an eavesdropping device”.

WikiLeaks said the source, in a statement, set out policy questions that “urgently need to be debated in public, including whether the CIA’s hacking capabilities exceed its mandated powers and the problem of public oversight of the agency”. (While some on Twitter have interpreted this to mean that Signal has been “broken”, that isn’t the case.) The dump also reportedly reveals ways in which the Central Intelligence Agency has attempted to cover its digital tracks in its hacking efforts and the location of a major base for Central Intelligence Agency hackers in Europe.

Experts have long said smart TVs and other Internet-connected devices can be exploited to monitor a target.

It’s that second sentence that’s vital here: It’s not that the encryption on Signal, WhatsApp (which uses the same encryption protocol as Signal), or Telegram has been broken.

No system is ideal.

The documents point to a vast armoury of cyber weapons like malware that allow spies to snoop on any device they wish, from iOS devices to Android phones, Windows machines and more.

“Our products and software are created to quickly get security updates into the hands of our customers, with almost 80 per cent of users running the latest version of our operating system”. This will come as little comfort to the millions of users of the operating system who may now have concerns about their privacy.

The intrusion tools highlighted by the leak do not appear to be instruments of mass surveillance.

What should I do if I’m anxious?

Gus Hosein, executive director of the Privacy International campaign group, said: “The fact that the USA government was identifying ways to undermine security of commonly used consumer devices and are even talking about hacking automobiles, that flies in the face of the Obama Administration’s response to the Snowden revelations”.

Its message, mirroring a statement from Apple last night – If you regularly update security on your devices, you should be safe. Wikileaks says it redacted much of that more specific information. USA intelligence agencies have accused Russian Federation of being behind the attack. Or, someone outside may have figured out a way to steal it.