Post by fruttitutti on Mar 7, 2017 23:54:04 GMT
WikiLeaks published thousands of documents Tuesday it says detail CIA tools for hacking into web servers, computers, smartphones and even TVs that can be turned into covert microphones.
The website claims the CIA Center for Cyber Intelligence "lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal," more than several hundred million lines of code that provide "the entire hacking capacity of the CIA."
Jake Williams, a security expert with the Georgia-based security firm Rendition Infosec, said the information will be used within days or weeks by hackers and the security firms that combat them.
"My first thought was 'Wow!' quickly followed by the realization that this is a treasure trove of information," he said. "We are regularly dealing with corporations being attacked by nation-state hacking groups. This gives us a lot of insight into how they do it."
According to WikiLeaks, Apple's iPhone, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows and Samsung smart TVs were among CIA targets. The TVs can be placed in a "fake off" mode, so the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on, the documents say. "In 'fake off' mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server," WikiLeaks says.
The notes indicate one of the developers' major challenges was maintaining an internet connection for long periods of time after the TVs were shut off by owners. There are notes indicating the teams hoped to extend that recording-and-sending time period to last as long as 24 to 72 hours.
# source : twitter.com/wikileaks
The website claims the CIA Center for Cyber Intelligence "lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal," more than several hundred million lines of code that provide "the entire hacking capacity of the CIA."
Jake Williams, a security expert with the Georgia-based security firm Rendition Infosec, said the information will be used within days or weeks by hackers and the security firms that combat them.
"My first thought was 'Wow!' quickly followed by the realization that this is a treasure trove of information," he said. "We are regularly dealing with corporations being attacked by nation-state hacking groups. This gives us a lot of insight into how they do it."
According to WikiLeaks, Apple's iPhone, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows and Samsung smart TVs were among CIA targets. The TVs can be placed in a "fake off" mode, so the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on, the documents say. "In 'fake off' mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server," WikiLeaks says.
The notes indicate one of the developers' major challenges was maintaining an internet connection for long periods of time after the TVs were shut off by owners. There are notes indicating the teams hoped to extend that recording-and-sending time period to last as long as 24 to 72 hours.
# source : twitter.com/wikileaks