The Meeting Place > Technology Talk > CIA document leak confirms smartphone vulnerabilities

CIA document leak confirms smartphone vulnerabilities

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Drew
7 yrs ago

The latest Wikileaks release of over 9,000 pages of data suggests that the CIA and allied agencies are able to use vulnerabilities (that they refuse to disclose) to hack any Apple iPhone or Android device. Furthermore, popular messaging services that are believed to be secure such as WhatsApp, are also hackable according to the doucments.

WhatsApp was added to the list of approved services for sensitive and classified communication in Australia recently and it's the service of choice for Malcolm Turnbull and other parliamentarians to share private information.

The document leaks come just a few days after Donald Trump accused the previous administration of wire tapping his devices.

Cyber security expert Professor Nigel Phair from the University of Canberra isn't sure how normal people are supposed to protect themselves anymore.

“Any advice I would have normally given has been blown out of the water by the Vault 7 revelations,” he told news.com.au.

What do you think? Should the CIA be held accountable for breaching the privacy of it's citizens and the world's privacy? Do you feel safe and secure online? 

6 comments

Online I can handle, having come to terms with the fact nothing is truly safe. It's the hacking and bugging of home appliances, like TVs, and the increasing vulnerability of the vehicles we drive that worries me. Home security systems and kid's 'interactive' toys seem problematic as well according to reports.

Power and water supplies are also vulnerable. If 'someone' hacked in and closed the power grid we'd all be nigh on helpless in this technology driven age. No money, no fuel, no communication and no food. Scary.

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kfchugo
7 yrs ago

I think George Orwell was right in his novel "1984".....we certainly have "Big brother" looking over our shoulders. George just got the year wrong. We only have to break wind these days and our government can tell what we have been eating.

It is not the CIA that scans the internet for potential threats but NSA and GCHQ 

They are not my concern but private hackers who steal information for private gain .

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kfchugo
7 yrs ago

The U.S. claims these revelations by Wikileaks makes THEIR country "less safe". In my view, the U.S. is making the ENTIRE world "less safe" yet they persist in persecuting the whistle blowers who inform us of their nefarious activities. People/nations with nothing to hide need have no fear of "revelations".

If the US claims you quote are true ... what a bloody hide on their part and totally agree Kfchugo, their endless machinations along with the other superpower's similar tactics make the whole world much less safe. Shades of the old Spy Vs Spy and endemic security paranoia.

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Banjo
7 yrs ago

Nothing has really changed, cyber intelligence has only made it all easier. The Cold War was all about espionage and counterespionage. 

The CIA are noted for using any tactic to get information (just like Russia and China). How many know that almost all of the CIA's officers were male and so to pull off some of their operations in a convincing way, it often meant they used their wives and girlfriends to carry out a plan, while the men kept well in the shadows. Many would send the wives out to make contact with an agent to allay suspicion. Nowadays, they're using technology.

The world has been unsafe since WW1 or long before, and will continue to be unsafe. It all depends on one's definition of what "safe" is. 

 

You have to cast doubt on the accuracy of this report when they completely misnamed the responsible for code breaking and wireless interception . 

The CIA does not get involved in these activities. Or does M16 or ASIS . 

6 comments



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