After this case became known and the world was shaken, a new one emerged, brought by WikiLeaks and revealing the tools the CIA uses to spy on smartphones, computers and even televisions. WikiLeaks unveiled Vault 7, a file set consisting of a total of 8,761 documents from the CIA, the United States Intelligence Agency. These documents contain lines of code that allow those who own them to have the CIA’s ability to hack into an iOS system, Android, and many others. WikiLeaks considers these documents a kind of hacking arsenal, with viruses, trojans, and malware that can attack mobile devices overnight.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 7, 2017 This release is the first of a series on the CIA that WikiLeaks intends to launch to showcase the capabilities and means of the Agency. Using these techniques revealed, the CIA can transform equipment from Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung, whether it be a telephone or a TV, into a microphone in disguise.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 7, 2017 In an analysis of the documents, WikiLeaks noted that both iPhones and iPads have been targeted by the CIA and will certainly continue to be. While Android devices are a dominant force, WikiLeaks argues that the CIA’s focus on iOS is due to the popularity of the brand. The agency has a specialized unit to create and run malware so they can extract information from Apple products. It is believed that to obtain this information extraction, there are pieces of code, unknown to the creators of the software, which contains vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) March 7, 2017 In addition to malware for affected systems, Wikileaks claims the CIA has lost control over most of its hacking material. These documents state that it is possible, through malware, to attack both an Android phone and one with Apple software. Targets go further and reach Twitter accounts. The full list of documents can be found here, and briefly, a thorough review of the documents by security experts will let you know the impact of this information leak.
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