WikiLeaks’ New Dump Reveals CIA Is Using Smartphones, Smart TVs And Apps To Snoop On People

WikiLeaks yesterday (7 March) published a large number of documents purportedly pertaining to the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) hacking programs. The documents are said to contain descriptions of hacking tools, engineering notes, internal communications and more.

This is the first leak of the CIA project which the website is calling "Vault 7". WikiLeaks first released an encrypted version of this batch of documents, nicknamed "Year Zero", on Twitter late Monday (6 March). “Year Zero comprises 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virgina [sic]," a press release accompanying the leaks reads.

The leaks reveal a hacking operations centre called the Center for Cyber Intelligence Europe, based out of the Frankfurt Consulate and details the tools that the CIA uses to break into smartphones, communication apps and other electronic devices like smart televisions. We learn that the Samsung F8000 TV set is especially vulnerable - when under attack, the device appears switched off but is actually acting as a spy device. This brings to light the vulnerabilities of even commonly-used devices.

With Inputs From ANI.