Five years ago, Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA extensively collects information on citizens worldwide. It’s now clear that privacy is no longer a right we can take for granted.
What’s more, the recent information shared by WikiLeaks surrounding CIA hacking and spying emphasizes a chilling fact: You can be spied on at any moment. While law enforcement should learn to love encryption, it’s clear the CIA is set on spying and hacking targets of interest.
Here are four ways the CIA hackers could be targeting you, wherever you are.
1. Smartphone hacking: Turning your smartphone into a bug
The CIA’s Mobile Devices Branch has targeted smartphones as a way to spy on unsuspecting users. Whether you’re an iPhone or an Android user, the CIA has developed exploits that can access text and audio communications directly on your phone before they get encrypted by your favorite chat app.
Furthermore, hacked phones can be instructed to relay your location and activate their cameras and microphones, which inconspicuously turns your phone into a CIA bug.
2. Smart TV spying: Spying through your TV
We’re all used to watching people on TV. Sadly, the CIA may now be watching you through yours. According to WikiLeaks, the CIA has developed a program called Weeping Angel, which can place a smart TV in a surveillance mode. During a Weeping Angel attack, the TV will appear off, but it will secretly record audio and send it to CIA servers.
3. Computer hacking: Infecting your computer with NSA technology
Malware is not only used by nefarious criminals seeking to extract money from you. WikiLeaks reported a substantial effort by the CIA to infect and control computers, potentially corrupting CDs, DVDs, and USB sticks. Furthermore, WikiLeaks reports that the CIA has developed capabilities to not only infiltrate systems but to remain undetected in infected devices.
4. Carjacking: Controlling your car on the road
Scarily, the CIA can allegedly hack the control systems of modern vehicles. Not only does this allow them to know where you are and where you’re going, but it gives them the potential to carry out nearly undetectable assassinations.
How to protect yourself from CIA spying and hacking
The truth is, the CIA and other intelligence agencies around the world are ramping up efforts to monitor and interfere with perceived targets of interest. To protect yourself from the CIA’s hacking:
- Frequently update the security settings of your devices
- Do not use unencrypted communication tools/devices
- Never leave your devices unattended
- Follow these tips for internet privacy
Remember: No matter what the CIA and other surveillance groups choose to do, the power to remain anonymous remains with you.
Comments
The sad part about this type of stuff is, we people with minds of our own, and that aren’t gullible morons know that THIS STUFF IS REAL, and has been going on for a long time. I know that certain individuals, within organizations with “authority” will sometimes even look into random people FOR FUN!!!! I heard this confirmed in person, by someone who knows what they are talking about. It is pathetic that they think they have a right to look into our lives AT ALL!!! better yet for fun. These people are untouchable because just like when a regular cop pulls you over, all they have to say is they smelled drugs in your car, whether or not it is true it gives them 100% LEGAL AND PROTECTED authority to violate your RIGHT to privacy, because their word is held high in regard and you are nothing but a piece of trash citizen – it is the same with the feds (cia and what not) they ONLY have to VERBALLY STATE that they had reasonable suspicion.. even if it is a lie they get away with it… SO GET A MIND OF YOUR OWN PEOPLE, protect yourself, you pay their salaries with your taxes, they are YOUR SERVANTS, they do not own you, nor have the right to look at you as a number or cattle to be butchered..
Hi Lexie,
My name is Jon King. I am a crime writer in the UK (author and screenwriter) and I am researching material for a new screenplay.
I was wondering if you would be kind enough to clarify a statement made by some tech writers regarding the Vault 7 leaks – i.e. that ‘The CIA can evade existing forensic tools and capabilities’
My own limited understanding of Vault 7 is that the CIA can disguise or misdirect attribution of the hack, but not necessarily evade forensic analysis altogether – i.e. completely obfuscate or conceal the hack to the extent that forensic investigators are unable to find any evidence that the computer (or other device) has been compromised. Is this correct?
I would be so grateful if you could clarify this point as it’s absolutely crucial to the plot of my story and I really would like to get it right!
Many thanks.
Kind regards
Jon King
Im a king
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