WikiLeaks posted another leak targeting the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) for using unethical hacking as a weapon to spy on users across the world. The first part of the leak, “Year Zero”, disclosed 8,761 documents and files that were leaked from the Central Intelligence Agency. It is also the largest ever publication of confidential documents. The series is code named as “Vault 7“.
According to the leak, CIA has adopted unethical hacking techniques which it uses to penetrate into users’ iPhone, Android smartphones, smart TVs, PCs, Tablets, or any smart device. If it is to be believed than it’s a serious attack on users’ privacy.
The leak highlighted some tech companies and social media apps affected by the CIA hacking like Apple, Samsung, WhatsApp, Microsoft, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, and Google. WikiLeaks posted CIA’s unethical hacking and surveillance details in its document and also unveiled the codes and strategies that it used to turn anyone’s smart TV into a mic.
Yes, you heard that right, CIA has the capability of turning your smart TV into a recording device even when it is turned off and it can also decrypt encrypted chats by accessing the OS directly. CIA uses a program called Weeping Angel to hack into Samsung Smart TVs and activate the ‘Fake-off’ mode which makes them appear switched-off even when it is on. The TV starts operating as a bug to record conversations in the room.
CIA also gained access to users’ data by targeting both iPhone and Android smartphones. However, Apple claimed that many of the vulnerabilities mentioned in the dump had already been fixed. We still have to hear what Google, Microsoft, WhatsApp, and Samsung have to say about the vulnerabilities mentioned in the Vault 7 dump.
Telegram and Signal claimed that their encryption was not compromised. Telegram said that Year Zero is not an app issue and instead applies to devices and operating systems. “It is a confirmation that the things we’re doing are working. End-to-end encryption has pushed intelligence agencies away from undetected and unfettered mass surveillance to where they have to use high-risk and targeted attacks,” stated Signal. WikiLeaks also claims that CIA was also targeting smart control systems used in cars though the document lacked details on ‘how’.
It was the first part of the leak, as mentioned above, from the “Vault 7” series of leaks that covers hacking incidents between the period 2013 to 2016. The surveillance programme by CIA may have been the biggest breach in the recent times as lot of users around the globe uses smart TVs and smartphones that runs on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android OS.