[LINK] WikiLeaks Vault 7: CIA Hacking Tools Revealed

[Stephen Loosley]

Andy writes,

>> Wikileaks has carefully reviewed the "Year Zero" disclosure and published
>> substantive CIA documentation while avoiding the distribution of 'armed'
>> cyberweapons
>
> Yeah, I looked at the "leaks" earlier this morning and pretty much found
> nothing. It was basically saying "with this code we can do this" but no actual
> code. Nothing to see here, move along.


Ref: http://www.afr.com/news/policy/defence/wikileaks-documents-describe-cia-spying-through-samsung-phones-and-tv-sets-20170307-gut04y


Yes, to release any of the actual code would appear to verge on criminal. 

"WikiLeaks said it was not releasing the computer code for actual, usable cyberweapons "until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA's program and how such 'weapons' should be analysed, disarmed and published."

Some of the details of the CIA programs might have come from the plot of a spy novel.. One, code-named Weeping Angel, uses Samsung televisions as covert listening devices. According to the WikiLeaks news release, even when it appears to be turned off, the television "operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the internet to a covert CIA server."

If CIA agents did manage to hack the smart TVs, they would not be the only ones. Since their release, internet-connected televisions have been a focus for hackers and cybersecurity experts, many of whom see the sets' ability to record and transmit conversations as a potentially dangerous vulnerability.

In early 2015, Samsung appeared to acknowledge the televisions posed a risk to privacy. The fine print terms of service included with its smart TVs said that the television sets could capture background conversations, and that they could be passed on to third parties.

The company also provided a remarkably blunt warning: "Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition."

Cheers,
Stephen