Tech giants Apple, Samsung and Microsoft have broken their silence on the latest leak from WikiLeaks that revealed the CIA hacked into their products for surveillance purposes.
Apple claimed to have previously addressed the vulnerabilities in their operating system, iOS, revealed in Tuesday’s ‘Vault 7’ leak from WikiLeaks.
“While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities,” the company said in a statement, urging customers to update to the latest version of iOS to ensure they have the most recent security updates. Vault 7 revealed a specific division within the CIA dedicated to the hacking of Apple devices which run iOS. A tool dubbed “Adderall” gave the CIA the ability to pull core iOS files from a device.
Samsung, whose smart TVs were targeted in an operation known as “Weeping Angel” that allowed the CIA to listen-in via the device even when powered off, issued a brief statement. “Protecting consumers’ privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung,” they said in a statement, adding that they are “urgently looking into the matter.”
Microsoft were also brief in their response, saying they were “aware of the report and are looking into it,” but would not comment further. The company’s Windows operating system was targeted by the CIA who developed numerous hacking techniques, dubbed “zero days,” to access the system and return data. One zero day dubbed “Hammer Drill” allowed the CIA to infect devices that have never been connected to the internet via the Microsoft platform.
Google, whose Android operating system was revealed to be manipulated to allow for 85 percent of the world’s smartphones to be “weaponized” by the CIA, have yet to respond to the leak. The company is busy digesting the documents and files leaked by WikiLeaks to update and protect their devices.
