Wikileaks’
recent disclosure of the CIA’s hacking and surveillance
capabilities highlights a frightening new reality for today’s
journalists. Considering the CIA’s penchant for silencing and
intimidating reporters and editors, journalists will have to overcome
greater odds to protect the public’s right to know.
by
Whitney Webb
Part
1
This past
Tuesday saw the biggest shake-up in the tech world since Edward
Snowden first revealed the full extent of the National Security
Agency’s “dragnet” surveillance program nearly four years ago.
Thanks to
Wikileaks’ first publication of its “Vault 7” documents, which
detail the CIA’s global covert hacking program, the CIA’s ability
to bypass encryption and turn practically any Internet-enabled
electronic device into a covert microphone is now in the realm of
public knowledge.
While these
revelations are troublesome for everyone, they are particularly
concerning for journalists, who often rely on encrypted apps and
technological privacy for sensitive stories. Wikileaks itself
highlighted this point in a tweet made soon after “Vault 7” was
released: “CIA hacker malware a threat to journalists: infests
iPhone, Android bypassing Signal, Confide encryption.”
This threat
is particularly concerning given that the U.S. government –
particularly the CIA – has a documented penchant for silencing and
intimidating journalists with whom they take issue. Encrypted
messaging programs have been touted as a solution for journalistic
privacy in the post-Snowden world. The messaging app Signal, in
particular, has been endorsed by prominent journalists and even
Snowden himself.
However,
some journalists have noted that Signal and other similar apps do not
necessarily protect those under targeted surveillance, a concerning
fact given that journalists are more likely to be targeted than other
members of the general public for surveillance.
Not only has
“Vault 7” now proven that encrypted messaging apps have been
compromised, it has also shown that the CIA’s hacking capabilities
span nearly every type of telecommunications device available to
consumers, including smartphones, tablets, personal computers and
routers. In addition, the CIA is able to target everything from data
and applications to operating systems and hardware, making no
Internet-enabled consumer electronic device safe from CIA
surveillance.
Among the
CIA’s hacking tools detailed in the release was a tool that allows
the CIA “to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram,
Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman [sic] by hacking the ‘smart’ phones
that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic before
encryption is applied.” Essentially, the tactics that many
journalists have touted as effective in protecting their privacy are
rendered powerless by the CIA.
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