The Student News Site of Ripon High School

The Smoke Signal

The Student News Site of Ripon High School

The Smoke Signal

The Student News Site of Ripon High School

The Smoke Signal

Big Brother is Watching

WikiLeaks recently published what is considered one of the biggest ever leak of confidential documents from the CIA. The leaked documents mainly talk about techniques that the CIA uses to hack electronic devices, such as phones, apps, and communication devices.

WikiLeaks calls the trove of leaked documents “Vault 7.” The CIA reportedly hasn’t used these techniques on Americans and plans to use them only to track terrorists.

The documents describe the CIA trying to find weaknesses in electronics, such as smartphones, and exploiting these weaknesses for their own benefit, rather than reporting them to the manufacturer.

The documents also describe another unsettling hacking method referred to as “Weeping Angel.”

“The attack against Samsung smart TVs was developed in cooperation with the United Kingdom’s MI5/BTSS. After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a ‘Fake Off’ mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on. In ‘Fake Off’ mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the internet to a covert CIA server,” said WikiLeaks in a press conference regarding the leaks.

The CIA refused to comment on the leaks. The White House also refused to confirm the authenticity of the leaks.

“I’m not going to comment on that. Obviously that’s something that’s not been fully evaluated,” said Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary.

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