On Tuesday, WikiLeaks released an extensive data trove that contained documents which prove that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had spying operations and hacking tools.
The operation was codenamed, “Vault 7,” which allegedly included cyber-weapons like malware that targets Windows, Android, iOS, OSX and Linux computers as well as internet routers.
According to the WikiLeaks, it contained 8,761 documents, and "the majority of [the CIA] hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized ‘zero day’ exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation.”
Wikileaks made shocking claims that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has a separate specialized unit for Cyber Intelligence that deals with developing and obtaining zero-day exploits for iOS devices.
"Despite iPhone’s minority share (14.5%) of the global smart phone market in 2016, a specialized unit in the CIA’s Mobile Development Branch produces malware to infest, control and exfiltrate data from iPhones and other Apple products running iOS, such as iPads. CIA’s arsenal includes numerous local and remote “zero days” developed by CIA or obtained from GCHQ, NSA, FBI or purchased from cyber arms contractors such as Baitshop. The disproportionate focus on iOS may be explained by the popularity of the iPhone among social, political, diplomatic and business elites."
Wikileaks further claimed that the CIA has recently ‘lost control’ of the majority of the malware used to attack iPhones and iPads.
"Recently, the CIA lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized “zero days” exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive."
The operation was codenamed, “Vault 7,” which allegedly included cyber-weapons like malware that targets Windows, Android, iOS, OSX and Linux computers as well as internet routers.
According to the WikiLeaks, it contained 8,761 documents, and "the majority of [the CIA] hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized ‘zero day’ exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation.”
Wikileaks made shocking claims that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has a separate specialized unit for Cyber Intelligence that deals with developing and obtaining zero-day exploits for iOS devices.
"Despite iPhone’s minority share (14.5%) of the global smart phone market in 2016, a specialized unit in the CIA’s Mobile Development Branch produces malware to infest, control and exfiltrate data from iPhones and other Apple products running iOS, such as iPads. CIA’s arsenal includes numerous local and remote “zero days” developed by CIA or obtained from GCHQ, NSA, FBI or purchased from cyber arms contractors such as Baitshop. The disproportionate focus on iOS may be explained by the popularity of the iPhone among social, political, diplomatic and business elites."
Wikileaks further claimed that the CIA has recently ‘lost control’ of the majority of the malware used to attack iPhones and iPads.
"Recently, the CIA lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized “zero days” exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive."