Will WikiLeaks work with tech firms to defeat CIA hacking?

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks raised the prospect Wednesday of sharing sensitive details it uncovered about CIA hacking tools with leading technology companies whose flagship products and services were targeted by the government’s hacker-spies.

If that sharing should take place, the unusual cooperation would give companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and others an opportunity to identify and repair any flaws in software and devices that were being exploited by U.S. spy agencies and some foreign allies, as described in nearly 9,000 pages of CIA files WikiLeaks published Tuesday.

The documents, which the White House declined anew Wednesday to confirm as authentic, describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features for computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs. They include the world’s most popular technology platforms, including Apple’s iPhones and iPads, Google’s Android phones and the Microsoft Windows operating system for desktop computers and laptops.

The CIA has declined to confirm that the documents are authentic. But Wednesday, the agency said Americans should be “deeply troubled” by the disclosures.