Yahoo – AFP,
Paul Handley, Rob Lever, March 9, 2017
 |
Assange said WikiLeaks had "a lot more information" about the CIA's hacking
operation but would hold off on publishing it until it had spoken to tech
manufacturers (AFP Photo/Saul LOEB) |
Washington
(AFP) - The Central Intelligence Agency accused WikiLeaks of endangering
Americans, helping US rivals and hampering the fight against terror threats by
releasing what the anti-secrecy site claimed was a trove of CIA hacking tools.
A CIA
spokeswoman would not confirm the authenticity of the materials published by
WikiLeaks, which said they were leaked from the spy agency's hacking
operations.
Nevertheless,
said spokeswoman Heather Fritz Horniak, "The American public should be
deeply troubled by any WikiLeaks disclosure designed to damage the intelligence
community's ability to protect America against terrorists and other
adversaries."
"Such
disclosures not only jeopardize US personnel and operations, but also equip our
adversaries with tools and information to do us harm," she said.
Horniak
defended the CIA's cyber operations, which the WikiLeaks materials showed
focused heavily on breaking into personal electronics using a wide range of
malware systems.
"It is
CIA's job to be innovative, cutting-edge, and the first line of defense in
protecting this country from enemies abroad," she said.
Massive
leak
On Tuesday,
WikiLeaks published nearly 9,000 documents it said were part of a huge trove
leaked from the CIA, describing it as the largest-ever publication of secret
intelligence materials.
"This
extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million
lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the
CIA," it said.
 |
Graphic
outlining technical objectives of CIA hacking schemes, according
to a new
document release by WikiLeaks (AFP Photo/John SAEKI)
|
The
documents showed that CIA hackers can turn a TV into a listening device, bypass
popular encryption apps, and possibly control one's car.
Most
experts believe the materials to be genuine, and US media said Wednesday that
the Federal Bureau of Investigation is opening a criminal probe into the leak.
The source
of the materials remained unclear. The investigation could focus on whether the
CIA was sloppy in its controls, or, as The Washington Post reported, it could
be "a major mole hunt" for a malicious leaker or turncoat inside the
agency.
WikiLeaks
itself said the documents, hacking tools and code came from an archive that had
circulated among US government hackers and private contractors.
An
investigation would come as the CIA is already enmeshed in a
politically-charged probe into Russia's alleged interference in the US election
last year in support of President Donald Trump's campaign.
WikiLeaks,
which has stunned the US government with a series of publications of top secret
political, diplomatic and intelligence materials, said the publication Tuesday
was only the first of a series of releases of CIA hacking materials.
That raised
concerns that the site could release the actual hacking tools it obtained along
with the documents. Experts worry those could fall into the hands of anyone,
including US enemies and criminals.
Tech
sector scrambles for fixes
The
WikiLeaks documents detailed the CIA's practice of exploiting vulnerabilities
in hardware and software, without ever informing producers of them.
The CIA
allegedly found ways to hack into personal electronics from leading companies
like Apple and Samsung, Android phones, popular Microsoft software, and crucial
routers from major manufacturers.
The
documents suggest it can also infiltrate smartphones in a way that allows it to
get around popular messaging encryption apps.
The tech
sector was scrambling to understand how their products were at risk.
 |
"While
our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today
were
already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address
any
identified vulnerabilities," Apple said in an emailed statement on the
WikiLeaks documents (AFP Photo/Jack Taylor)
|
"While
our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were
already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any
identified vulnerabilities," Apple said in an emailed statement.
"We're
confident that security updates and protections in both Chrome and Android
already shield users from many of these alleged vulnerabilities," Google
director of information security and privacy Heather Adkins said in a released
statement.
"Our
analysis is ongoing and we will implement any further necessary
protections."
Samsung and
Microsoft both said they were "looking into" what WikiLeaks revealed.
Encryption apps safe
Joseph
Hall, a technologist with the Center for Democracy and Technology, a digital
rights organization, said the documents raise questions about the US
government's pledge last year to disclose vulnerabilities to technology firms.
That pledge
means "security flaws should get back to the companies so they can get
fixed, and not languish for years," he said.
The
American Civil Liberties Union commented in a tweet: "When the govt finds
software security holes, it should help fix them, not hoard them and leave
everyone vulnerable."
Companies
that make encryption programs and apps targeted by the CIA said the revelations
show the agency has not been able to break their software.
Open
Whisper Systems, which developed the technology for the Signal encryption app,
said the CIA documents showed that Signal works.
"None
of the exploits are in Signal or break Signal Protocol encryption," the
group said in a tweet.
"The
existence of these hacking tools is a testimonial to the strength of the
encryption," said Steve Bellovin, a Columbia University computer science
researcher, in a blog post.
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