Wikileaks claims CIA hacking Macbook Air, Apple Mac and iPhones (which they’ve been tampering with before they’ve even hit shops)
A second round of bombshell allegations suggest the CIA has been bugging iPhones fresh from the factory before they even reach a shop shelf
APPLE customers were spied on by a virus created by the CIA which infected Macbook Airs and iPhones , it was claimed this afternoon.
The US intelligence agency installed "persistent" bugs that could monitor Apple Mac devices without their owner ever knowing, Wikileaks documents claimed.
It follows claims that both the CIA and MI5 could turn smart televisions into living-room spies.
According to Wikileaks, who published documents allegedly belonging to the secret services, the CIA developed a "Sonic Screwdriver" which could infect Apple devices using a USB stick.
Spies could bypass security controls to install firmware on the device which sent information back to HQ.
Privacy campaigning site Wikileaks, which is spearheaded by Julian Assange, claimed that another bug called NightSkies had been developed specifically for iPhones.
Samsung TVs were said to have been hacked using a computer virus called the Weeping Angel which turned them into a “covert microphone”.
What is Wikileaks and what documents does it have?
Wikileaks, 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.
On Tuesday March 7, WikiLeaks published the first of its new series of leaks on the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The leaks have were 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.
The second, released on March 23, is called Dark Matter.
It includes shocking claims that the CIA infected Macbook Air devices and iPhones with permanent software for surveillance purposes.
In some cases the software has been "infecting the iPhone supply chain of its targets since 2008".
Viewers who believed their TV was off were then recorded by its in-built microphone — with conversations sent to the CIA, it was claimed.
The program was named after terrifying characters in Doctor Who which come to life when not being looked at.
Wikileaks said: “The attack against Samsung smart TVs was developed in cooperation with the United Kingdom’s MI5.
“After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a ‘Fake-Off’ mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on.
“In ‘Fake-Off’ mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the internet to a covert CIA server.”
Wikileaks said the technique had eerie echoes of George Orwell’s nightmarish surveillance novel 1984.
Samsung has an huge range of smart TVs with voice control using microphones.
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."
Wikileaks added that a “substantial library” of digital espionage techniques borrowed from Russia and other countries was in the files, which date from 2013 to 2016.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange called them “exceptional from a political, legal and forensic perspective”.
A CIA spokesman said yesterday: “We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents.”
The Home Office declined to comment.
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