The CIA reportedly developed software to turn Mac computers into "listening posts," with the spy agency apparently able to track users' activities whenever they connected to the internet, a new WikiLeaks document dump has revealed. The information comes on the heels of an initial group of CIA documents, released by WikiLeaks on March 7, that showed the CIA could hack iPhones, Androids, Microsoft Windows computers, Cisco routers, and Samsung smart TVs, The New York Times reports.
Apple said that it discovered the vulnerability in its Mac computers and fixed it in all computers released after 2013. "We have given [WikiLeaks] instructions to submit any information they wish through our normal process under our standard terms," Apple said in a statement Thursday. "Thus far, we have not received any information from them that isn't in the public domain. We are tireless defenders of our users' security and privacy, but we do not condone theft or coordinate with those that threaten to harm our users."
While "all of the surveillance tools that have been disclosed were designed to be installed on individual phones or computers," The New York Times adds that Cisco Systems, for one, "warned customers this week that many of its popular routers, the backbone of computer networks, could be hacked using the CIA's techniques." The CIA has defended its techniques as being an "innovative" and "cutting-edge" means of protecting the country from adversaries.
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It might not just be your computer spying on you, though — read about the spooky ears on your fridge and TV here.
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