malware hacking
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WikiLeaks' exposure of CIA hacking tools and practices has raised a number of issues. It appears that by weaponizing malware, viruses, Trojans, remote control systems and secretly exploiting the vulnerabilities of popular software and hardware, the CIA's hacking division has crossed the red line.

The latest WikiLeaks exposure has given both enterprises and ordinary consumers of IT products the shivers.

While former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's revelations shed light on the extent of US global surveillance, the WikiLeaks files offer an inside peek at how the intrusion has been carried out.

WikiLeaks' "Year Zero" document collection has introduced "the scope and direction of the CIA's global covert hacking program, its malware arsenal and dozens of 'zero day' weaponized exploits against a wide range of US and European company products, include Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones."

While the real magnitude of the problem has yet to be evaluated, the question remains open, whether the US government and Silicon Valley giants were aware of the CIA's hacking problem.

Commenting on the explosive leak Tuesday, Snowden tweeted: "If you're writing about the CIA/@Wikileaks story, here's the big deal: first public evidence USG secretly paying to keep US software unsafe."

"The CIA reports show the USG developing vulnerabilities in US products, then intentionally keeping the holes open. Reckless beyond words," he added.

​However, besides targeting potential US adversaries overseas by penetrating into their systems, it appears that the US intelligence community had no scruples about exposing American citizens to both its spying practices and potential data theft by external intruders.

"Evidence mounts showing CIA & FBI knew about catastrophic weaknesses in the most-used smartphones in America, but kept them open — to spy," Snowden pointed out, referring to the leaked documents.

The WikiLeaks press release called attention to the fact that "the same vulnerabilities exist for the population at large, including the US Cabinet, Congress, top CEOs, system administrators, security officers and engineers."

"By hiding these security flaws from manufacturers like Apple and Google, the CIA ensures that it can hack everyone, at the expense of leaving everyone hackable," the press release stated.

'Furthermore, in addition to its capability to break into both civilian and government systems, the CIA is capable of hiding the traces of its intrusion and, what is more interesting, the intelligence agency can also leave behind "fingerprints" belonging to hackers from other nations due to its substantial library of attack techniques "stolen" from malware produced in other states.

Meanwhile, on early Tuesday, ArsTechnica.co.uk published an article describing the Data-wiping malware program Shamoon and warning that the virus is likely to make a successful comeback.

"Shamoon — the mysterious disk wiper that popped up out of nowhere in 2012 and took out more than 35,000 computers in a Saudi Arabian-owned gas company before disappearing — is back," the media outlet wrote, citing Russian multinational cybersecurity provider Kaspersky Lab.