YEAR ZERO
What is the WikiLeaks Vault 7 release about CIA TV snooping powers and what is the Weeping Angel virus Samsung hack?
TELEVISIONS which can secretly record our conversations and Smartphones which forward text messages to the CIA are among the alleged devices being used to monitor us, according to WikiLeaks' latest claims.
The site, which publishes top secret data from anonymous sources, has released thousands of new documents claiming to reveal the invasive methods used by US government spy agencies. So what is Vault 7 and why is it a big deal?
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What is Vault 7?
On Tuesday March 7, WikiLeaks published the first of its new series of leaks on the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The leaks have been code-named Vault 7, and is the "largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency", according to the site.
The first in the series has been dubbed Year Zero, and includes shocking claims that software was developed by the CIA to hack into people’s smartphones, computers and cars.
It contains 8,761 files which WikiLeaks claims come from the CIA's Centre for Cyber Intelligence in Virginia.
A CIA spokesman said the organisation "do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents.”
The Home Office declined to comment.
Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange said the enormous trove "exceptional from a political, legal and forensic perspective".
What is Weeping Angel and how do I know if my television has been hacked?
WikiLeaks claims a virus can put Samsung F8000 smart TVs in a fake off mode, so owners believe they are switched off, while secretly recording conversations and sending data to the CIA.
It says Weeping Angel - the virus named after a Doctor Who character - was developed with experts at London's MI5.
The alleged virus draws eerie comparisons with George Orwell's famous dystopian novel 1984, in which people are constantly monitored by two-way TV screens in their homes.
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The files also appear to show that GCHQ collaborated with US spies to hack into iPhones and Android software, and can even take photographs when owners think they are switched off.
Samsung said it was "urgently" investigating the claims.
The South Korean company has an huge range of smart TVs with voice control using microphones.
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But in 2015 viewers were warned not to discuss personal information in front of their sets.
A sinister clause in its privacy policy also warned sensitive information was passed on to a US-based communications company.
Samsung said: "Protecting consumers’ privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung. We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter."
What is Wikileaks?
WikiLeaks is a multi-national media organisation which publishes top secret and classified documents from anonymous sources.
According to the its website, its goal is "to bring important news and information to the public... One of our most important activities is to publish original source material alongside our news stories so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth."
It also strives to protect whistleblowers, and operates an anonymous online "dropbox" where insiders can upload information.
Who is Julian Assange?
WikiLeaks was founded in 2006 by 45-year-old Australian hacker Julian Assange, but the site and its founder became household names in 2010 after releasing footage of a US helicopter killing civilians in Iraq.
After the video was published, the US government launched a criminal investigation into the leaks - later discovered to have come from soldier Chelsea (formerly known as Bradley) Manning.
In 2010, two women claimed Assange had sexually assaulted them while he was at a conference in Sweden.
He was questioned and allowed to leave the country, but the case was re-opened in November.
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Assange feared he would be extradited to the US if he returned to Sweden, and says he will face questions in Britain.
In 2012 the UK Supreme Court rules he must return to Sweden, so he applies for political asylum in Ecuador and it is granted.
Since then he has been forced to live in London's Ecuadorian Embassy as he would be arrested if he left.
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What other information has Wikileaks published?
In 2010 WikiLeaks published almost 400,000 field reports known as the Iraq War Logs, which included shocking footage leaked by soldier Chelsea Manning of American soldiers killing civilians in Iraq in 2007.
The footage, dubbed Collateral Murder by the site, shows two Apache helicopter pilots laughing and joking as they attack over a dozen civilians, including two Reuters journalists.
It has also leaked Hillary Clinton's emails relating to Iraq during the US presidential campaign, files relating to Guantanamo Bay , documents relating to Scientology and a list of BNP members.
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