Gadgetory

some of the CIA's tech spying secrets may have been exposed WikiLeaks released what it claims are thousands of confidential CIA documents they allegedly show that the spy agency worked to develop tools to hack into devices like Apple and Android smartphones Samsung TVs and vehicle control systems WikiLeaks dubbed the collection of files vault seven and claims a former government hacker or contractor provided the material that covers a period from 2013 to 2016 CNN and CBS are currently unable to independently verify the authenticity of the documents according to WikiLeaks the hacking tools included malware and viruses designed to attack Apple's iOS Google Android and Microsoft Windows they allegedly allowed the CIA to access a smartphone users location and messages as well as control of phones microphone and camera once these phones are hacked into via their operating system then a hacker can look and read your messages just like if they had unlocked your phone with a thumbprint or a passcode the WikiLeaks documents include engineering notes and lines of code for the alleged CIA hacking tools that have code names derived from Pokemon and Doctor Who one called weeping angel included a so-called fake off mode so a smart TV screen would appear to be off but microphones in the TV or remote would still capture audio in the room major tech companies responded with statements emphasizing consumer privacy as a top priority Apple said it had already fixed many of the issues outlined in the documents with the latest iOS update Samsung and Microsoft both said they were looking into the report if proven to be true the documents would be another blow to US intelligence after Edward Snowden exposed the NSA's mass surveillance program in 2013 those NSA programs really targeted company servers and the backbone of the internet to sweep up information in a dragnet whereas these alleged CIA hacking tools get into specific devices phones and TVs to get information from a specific target it's unclear at this point which of the alleged hacking tools if any were deployed and where WikiLeaks is threatening to release even more CIA documents in San Franci scrote lexus Avedis cnet.com for CBS news