A new hacking tool used by the CIA has been revealed by WikiLeaks.
The tool disables security cameras and corrupts recordings made on computers using Windows XP and newer versions of the Microsoft operating system. Dubbed 'Dumbo', it requires an agent to directly access a computer that holds the recordings using a USB thumb drive.
WikiLeaks released information about project Dumbo on its website today. Dumbo can be used to suspend processes using webcams and corrupt video recordings. WikiLeaks said: 'Dumbo can identify, control and manipulate monitoring and detection systems on a target computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system. 'It identifies installed devices like webcams and microphones, either locally or connected by wireless (Bluetooth, WiFi) or wired networks.
'All processes related to the detected devices (usually recording, monitoring or detection of video/audio/network streams) are also identified and can be stopped by the operator. 'By deleting or manipulating recordings the operator is aided in creating fake or destroying actual evidence of the intrusion operation.' Dumbo is run directly from a USB stick, and requires administrator privileges to carry out its task.
This isn't the first time that WikiLeaks has released details of secret CIA projects. Since March, WikiLeaks has released 8,761 CIA documents from its secret Vault 7 project. Some of the latest releases have included information on CIA projects targeting SMS messages sent and received on Android devices, and tools for hacking Apple's operating system.
WikiLeaks suggested it received the files from a private contractor of the intelligence community. The data provides a window into how the CIA, like the NSA, breaks into computers and cellphones using software and hardware vulnerabilities, many of which are still open to exploitation. 'The source wishes to initiate a public debate about the security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons,' WikiLeaks said.
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