Wikileak’s founder Julian Assange this week released his organization’s latest data dump, which accused The Central Intelligence Agency of having alleged hacking and spying tools.
The tools, Assange suggested, allows the government to tap into devices such as consumers’ smart television and phones, as well as items like connected cars. According to CNET, an America media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs podcasts and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally, they have not been able to verify whether the documents are real or have been altered.
Assange, during a Thursday press conference, said he has “a lot” of unpublished information about the CIA’s tools that the organization will release if tech companies fix security gaps, CNN reported.
Reports that tech giants, like Microsoft, Apple, and Google, responded immediately to the claim. They assured their consumers that alleged government hacking tools shouldn’t be able to crack their security filters. Other tech companies, like Samsung and LG, CNET reported, are still looking into the situation.
Earlier this week, WikiLeaks published what it claimed were internal CIA documents showing that the agency has an extensive worldwide hacking operation that allows it to infiltrate phones and televisions to spy on people.
The cache of documents published by WikiLeaks has not been authenticated by independent experts. The CIA, citing standing policy, has declined to say whether the documents are real, CNN reported.
Should tech companies be allowed to create security filters to block government intelligence agencies?
