This week, WikiLeaks released over 8,000 documents from inside the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence. These documents, revealed that CIA has a dedicated hacking team devoted to working on developing and obtaining zero-day exploits for iOS devices, Android, and Windows devices, web servers, routers and even Smart TVs.
However, Apple that in the latest public version of iOS, released in January, the company has patched most of the exploits and vulnerabilities detailed in the documents from WikiLeaks. While, the leaked documents do not have any code, WikiLeaks claims it has acquired the tools used by CIA, but decided not to release it in public to protect users. Now, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said that he will share these tools with tech companies like Apple.
We have decided to work with [tech companies] to give them exclusive access to the additional technological details we have so that fixes can be developed and pushed out. Once this material is effectively disarmed by us we will publish additional details.
A report from WSJ, says that when the leaks were published, Apple’s engineers quickly assessed the bugs the CIA had found and how they were being used. There were hints in the documents that gave Apple an idea that some of the exploits had already been fixed with iOS updates.
While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest OS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities. We always urge customers to download the latest iOS to make sure they have the most recent security updates.
Apple has also decided to enforce a few rules regarding third-party app update services to make iOS more secure and safer for users.
Now, with WikiLeaks planning to release the actual tools used by CIA, Apple and other tech companies will have a chance to fix any remaining security holes in their devices and software.
