New trove hacks archive#
New trove hacks android#
New trove hacks software#
New trove hacks windows#

WikiLeaks claimed the CIA used both its Langley, Virginia, headquarters and the US consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, as bases for its covert hackers. The documents show broad exchanges of tools and information among the CIA, NSA and other US intelligence agencies, as well as intelligence services of close allies Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The files include comments by CIA hackers boasting in slang language of their prowess: “You know we got the dankest Trojans and collection tools,” one reads.

New trove hacks windows#

It took advantage of files Microsoft built into Windows since at least 10 years ago. That RickyBobby tool, the documents said, was intended to plant and harvest files on computers running “newer versions of Microsoft Windows and Windows Server.” It operated “as a lightweight implant for target computers” without raising warnings from antivirus or intrusion-detection software. The tools described in the documents carried bizarre names, including Time Stomper, Fight Club, Jukebox, Bartender, Wild Turkey, Margarita and “RickyBobby,” a racecar-driving character in the comedy film, “Talladega Nights.”

New trove hacks software#

said it was looking into the report, while the maker of secure messaging app Signal said the purported CIA tools affected users’ actual phones and not its software design or encryption protocols. Some technology firms on Tuesday said they were evaluating the information.

New trove hacks archive#

“The archive appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive,” WikiLeaks said in a statement. WikiLeaks said the material came from “an isolated, high-security network” inside the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence but didn’t say whether the files were removed by a rogue employee or whether the theft involved hacking a federal contractor working for the CIA or perhaps breaking into a staging server where such information might have been temporarily stored. It was not immediately clear how WikiLeaks obtained the information, and details in the documents could not immediately be verified. The revelations threatened to upend confidence in an Obama-era government program, the Vulnerability Equities Process, under which federal agencies warn technology companies about weaknesses in their software so they can be quickly fixed. Tuesday’s disclosure left anxious consumers who use the products with little recourse, since repairing the software vulnerabilities in ways that might block the tools’ effectiveness is the responsibility of leading technology companies. WikiLeaks said it planned to avoid distributing tools “until a consensus emerges” on the political nature of the CIA’s program and how such software could be analyzed, disarmed and published. Missing from WikiLeaks’ trove are the actual hacking tools themselves, some of which were developed by government hackers while others were purchased from outsiders. Jonathan Liu, a spokesman for the CIA, said: “We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents.” White House spokesman Sean Spicer also declined comment. WikiLeaks has a long track record of releasing top secret government documents, and experts who sifted through the material said it appeared legitimate. One document discusses hacking vehicle systems, indicating the CIA’s interest in hacking modern cars with sophisticated on-board computers. The documents also include discussions about compromising some Internet-connected televisions to turn them into listening posts.

New trove hacks android#

The documents describe CIA efforts - cooperating with friendly foreign governments and the US National Security Agency - to subvert the world’s most popular technology platforms, including Apple’s iPhones and iPads, Google’s Android phones and the Microsoft Windows operating system for desktop computers and laptops. US government employees, including President Donald Trump, use many of the same products and Internet services purportedly compromised by the tools.

The documents describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features intended to keep the private information of citizens and corporations safe from prying eyes. WASHINGTON: WikiLeaks published thousands of documents Tuesday described as secret files about CIA hacking tools the government employs to break into users’ computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs from companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung.