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New WikiLeaks CIA document dump details Apple hacking programs
A new release from WikiLeaks of Vault7 files has revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency had developed a range of tools to infect Apple products including the iPhone and MacBook line.
The files, which cover the period of 2009 through to 2013, include details of a CIA program called “Sonic Screwdriver” which is described as a “mechanism for executing code on peripheral devices while a Mac laptop or desktop is booting.” That gave the agency the ability to bypass passwords and other security features the user may have installed on the device.
Another program dubbed “DarkSeaSkies” was a method of accessing a MacBook by burrowing into the firmware of the computer to make sure it could survive an operating-system wipe. A version was also created that could be installed on new iPhone’s for similar data access purposes, including the ability to execute arbitrary commands, download additional tools to the phone, and the theft of files on an infected device such as the address book, SMS messages and call logs.
Related tools include SeaPea, an OS X rootkit for stealth and execution of other implants along with a tool called NightSkies which is said to provide command and control capabilities.
Interestingly, all of the methods described require physical access to the device. WikiLeaks said in a press release that it was “likely” the CIA accessed Apple products and infected them “by interdicting mail orders and other shipments (opening, infecting, and resending) leaving the United States or otherwise.”
So far the CIA has declined to comment on the authenticity of the documents. CNET reported that the agency only said that “it is CIA’s job to be innovative, cutting-edge, and the first line of defense in protecting this country from enemies abroad.”
Apple so far has not commented of the newly released documents. WikiLeak’s dumped its first batch of Vault7 files detailing the CIA’s hacking programs earlier this month. At the time, Apple responded by saying that many of the iOS vulnerabilities exploited by the CIA to hack iPhones had already been patched, making it likely that the security vulnerabilities exposed in the new release have been patched as well.
Photo: Pixabay
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