WikiLeaks Exposé RemindS Public That Any Device Connected to Internet Is Vulnerable to Hacking
WikiLeaks published on March 7 a trove of alleged Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents, sparking paranoia among the public. According to WikiLeaks, the first in the series of intelligence leaks include documents detailing CIA weapons, operations and strategies dated as recent as 2016.
What makes everyone more paranoid is that according to National Security Agency (NSA) hacker Edward Snowden, the documents look legitimate. According to other security experts, however, consumers do not need to worry as the document dump does not reveal anything terribly surprising.
"That the CIA hacks is like saying water is wet—it's them doing their job," said Nicholas Weaver of the International Computer Science Institute.
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Shuman Ghosemajumder of cyber security firm Shape Security also said to CNN that no computer system is impenetrable and that the publication of WikiLeaks only serves to remind everyone that any smartphone connected to the internet is always vulnerable to hacking.
"Given enough time, effort, and resource, a nation-state or even a well-funded cybercriminal group is capable of compromising almost any popular system we think of as secure," he explained.
Ghosemajumder also emphasized that if someone does not want to get hacked, he should use snail mail to communicate instead of the internet.
In a separate statement, Katie Moussouris of Luta Security said smartphone and smart TV users are more at risk from malware infections than targeted attacks, so keeping their devices up to date is necessary to avoid vulnerabilities.
The documents released by WikiLeaks suggests that older Android 4 devices are more vulnerable to hacking, so Weaver said using newer versions of Android and Apple phones with strong passwords would protect users from hackers. Early this week, Apple announced that its most recent software update already got rid of the many potential hacking methods specified by WikiLeaks.
