WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said his group will work with technology companies to help defend them against the Central Intelligence Agency’s reported hacking tools.
In an online press conference, the WikiLeaks boss acknowledged that tech companies had asked for more details about the CIA cyber-espionage toolkit whose existence the website revealed in a massive leak published on Tuesday, dubbed Vault7.
The leaked files claimed to contain details on how intelligence agencies used mobile devices and smart appliances – including internet-connected TVs – to carry out surveillance on users. Tech giants Samsung, Apple and Google all featured among the alleged targets.
Now, Assange has said WikiLeaks will work with tech companies so that they can protect themselves against any vulnerabilities highlighted in the documents.
“We have decided to work with them, to give them some exclusive access to some of the technical details we have, so that fixes can be pushed out,” he said.
Apple and Google have both already moved to the play down the risk to their software posed by the tools.
Apple said it was “deeply committed to safeguarding our customers’ privacy and security”, and that it had already fixed the majority of the issues raised in the leaked documents.
“While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities,” the iPhone maker said.
Google also confirmed that its Android and Chrome software options were safe.
The CIA and the Home Office in the UK have both so far declined to comment on the leak.
