WikiLeaks has published what it claims is the largest ever batch of confidential documents on the CIA. More than 8,000 documents were released on Tuesday as part of ‘Vault 7’, a series of leaks on the agency.
A total of 8,761 documents have been published as part of ‘Year Zero’, the first in a series of leaks the whistleblower organization has dubbed ‘Vault 7.’
In a statement WikiLeaks said ‘Year Zero’ revealed details of the CIA’s “global covert hacking program,” including “weaponized exploits” used against company products including “Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones.”
RELEASE: Vault 7 Part 1 "Year Zero": Inside the CIA's global hacking force https://t.co/h5wzfrReyy pic.twitter.com/N2lxyHH9jp
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 7, 2017
WikiLeaks tweeted the leak, which it claims came from a network inside the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virginia.
The source of the information told WikiLeaks in a statement that they wish to initiate a public debate about the “security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons.”
Policy questions that should be debated in public include “whether the CIA’s hacking capabilities exceed its mandated powers and the problem of public oversight of the agency,” WikiLeaks claims the source said.
The FAQ section of the release yields some key details that highlight the true extent of the leak: firstly, the information was “obtained recently and covers through 2016”.
The time period covered in the latest leak is between the years 2013 and 2016, according to the CIA timestamps on the documents themselves.
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.
“Those who demonstrate journalistic excellence may be considered for early access to future parts,” Wikileaks said in the leak.
In WikiLeaks analysis of ‘Year Zero’ they detailed “Weeping Angel”, a surveillance technique that which infests smart TV’s transforming them into microphones.
An attack against Samsung TV’s used “Weeping Angel” in cooperation with MI5, placing them into a “Fake-Off” mode, recording conversations even when the device appears to be off.
BREAKING: CIA turns Smart TVs, iPhones, gaming consoles and many other consumer gadgets into open microphones. #Vault7
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) March 7, 2017
BREAKING: CIA turned every Microsoft Windows PC in the world into spyware. Can activate backdoors on demand, including via Windows update.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) March 7, 2017
The release came after a planned press conference suffered a cyberattack, according to the whistleblowing organization. WikLeaks has since rescheduled its press conference.
This looks like excellent work by Wikileaks and their source(s).
We live in interesting times for sure. Although the Internet has enabled mass surveillance on a level unimaginable decades ago, it also makes it a whole lot more difficult for totalitarian governments to keep secrets. Whether the tradeoff is worth it remains to be seen.
I’d still be cautious about putting complete trust in these leaks as a full representation of the government’s hacking capabilities. The latter may be deliberately understated in some or all of the documents. So the cardinal rule remains the same: if a device is electronic and capable of wireless communications, don’t trust it with any critical info, and don’t hold private conversations near it (even if it appears to be turned off).