Posted on 03/23/2017 7:34:38 AM PDT by Enlightened1
A new WikiLeaks Vault 7 leak titled “Dark Matter” claims that the Central Intelligence Agency has been bugging “factory fresh” iPhones since at least 2008 through suppliers. The documents are expected to be released after a 10 a.m. EDT “press briefing” that WikiLeaks promoted on its Twitter.
And here is the full press release from WikiLeaks:
Today, March 23rd 2017, WikiLeaks releases Vault 7 "Dark Matter", which contains documentation for several CIA projects that infect Apple Mac Computer firmware (meaning the infection persists even if the operating system is re-installed) developed by the CIA's Embedded Development Branch (EDB). These documents explain the techniques used by CIA to gain 'persistence' on Apple Mac devices, including Macs and iPhones and demonstrate their use of EFI/UEFI and firmware malware.
Among others, these documents reveal the "Sonic Screwdriver" project which, as explained by the CIA, is a "mechanism for executing code on peripheral devices while a Mac laptop or desktop is booting" allowing an attacker to boot its attack software for example from a USB stick "even when a firmware password is enabled". The CIA's "Sonic Screwdriver" infector is stored on the modified firmware of an Apple Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adapter.
"DarkSeaSkies" is "an implant that persists in the EFI firmware of an Apple MacBook Air computer" and consists of "DarkMatter", "SeaPea" and "NightSkies", respectively EFI, kernel-space and user-space implants.
Documents on the "Triton" MacOSX malware, its infector "Dark Mallet" and its EFI-persistent version "DerStake" are also included in this release. While the DerStake1.4 manual released today dates to 2013, other Vault 7 documents show that as of 2016 the CIA continues to rely on and update these systems and is working on the production of DerStarke2.0.
Also included in this release is the manual for the CIA's "NightSkies 1.2" a "beacon/loader/implant tool" for the Apple...
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
“...China has PLA mandated backdoors in addition to anything the CIA adds.”
The tech at the iPhone Store says...
“I’m sorry sir, but we won’t be able to repair your iPhone. Apparently, there’s an internal conflict between the CIA-installed spyware and the Chinese-installed spyware. Frankly sir, that kind of repair is beyond our expertise. Have you considered calling the CIA? I understand they have a pretty sophisticated technical branch.”
I’ll give Cook a very small break. This could have been done by a factory employee completely unknown to him...............
Nobody here should really be surprised by this I hope. I have always assumed the government was in bed with All the Technology companies, if not outright owning some of them quietly.
How does a Muslim man who as a young man voted for a communist for Prez and who as Riyadgh Station Chief approved all the Visas in Saudi Arabia for the 911 bombers:
how does he head up the CIA, how how did he keep his job as long as he did..???
It sounds like the United States contains another small country with its own Personnel its own funding sources, its own values, its own Traditions.
it sounds like we might be an occupied country.
Anyone remember when Jimmy Carter proposed the wiretapping of all phones to an automated system which would start recording when certain words were mentioned?
I do!
there’s an internal conflict between the CIA-installed spyware and the Chinese-installed spyware
= = =
And for proof, note the number of phones that have been exploding.
Of course they blame the poor battery.
Boy, it sure is a good thing that they only use these things against non-US citizens. Otherwise I’d be really upset.
“And I thought this was just good fiction”
At some point I studied the history of spying.
Seems once the James Bond movies appeared, every government went “we have guys like him, right? what? we don’t? well then get us some James Bonds now!!!” Life imitated art because the art was way cool.
bkmk
bkmk
The CIA has been bugging Swordmaker iPhones since at least 2008 : )
Wow. This is huge.
As secretive as Apple is and as big of a focus as they claim to put on security that is no excuse.
That’s like having a culture of rape where women are raped all the time and the guy at the top saying...I didn’t know.
Also Macs are “infected” as well. No wonder they don’t get hacked that much—no one needs to. they just go in via the backdoor.
Pretty much sounds like a root kit, but worse since it’s embedded in firmware simply wiping and reloading won’t fix it.
Is the CIA/FBI/etc. using this kind of thing to blackmail members of government and the judiciary?
“Lawrence Houston, head counsel of the SSU, CIG, and, later CIA, was principal draftsman of the National Security Act of 1947,[44][45] which dissolved the NIA and the CIG, and established both the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency.[43][46] In 1949 Houston helped to draft the Central Intelligence Agency Act (Public law 81-110), which authorized the agency to use confidential fiscal and administrative procedures, and exempted it from most limitations on the use of Federal funds. It also exempted the CIA from having to disclose its “organization, functions, officials, titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed.” It created the program “PL-110” to handle defectors and other “essential aliens” who fell outside normal immigration procedures.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency
The left initially was against it, but when THEY got to the White House, they got surprisingly quiet....
ROTFLMAO . . .
Tinker toys to do this circulating in the hacker world is exactly the reason for the Kabuki Theater media screaming about how the horrible, evil, FBI, wanted to force Apple to give them a key to their encryption.
As Apple knows, nothing like a court case against Apple to get their fans hardened to anything they hear that goes against the Apple press releases.
After that farce, Apple users would dismiss anything that came out about someone getting their data because they knew they were resting safe and secure in the bosom of Tim where not even Apple engineers could get at their stuff even if they wanted to.
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