The CIA’s cyber-espionage operations were at risk of being laid bare yesterday after WikiLeaks published what it claimed was a large trove of documents detailing the US agency’s techniques for hacking into smartphones, internet-connected TVs and other devices.
The documents purported to reveal a stockpile of malware used by the CIA to break into some of today’s most widely-used technologies, including phones and tablets running on Google’s Android operating system and Apple’s iOS.
By taking control of smartphones in this way, WikiLeaks claimed the agency was able to get around the protections built into encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, which have gained in popularity as many users have looked for stronger protection from prying eyes.