Overview

The Vault 7 Leaks is the code name for a massive leak released by Wikileaks in early March 2017, containing documents that purportedly discuss hacking tools used by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to compromise the security of various devices connected to the internet, including smart phones, computers and smart TVs.

Background

Pre-release

On February 4th, 2017, the @Wikileaks Twitter feed posted a photograph of the Svalbard Seed Vault, along with the message "What is #Vault7?" (shown below). Over the next month, the tweet gathered upwards of 4,100 likes and 3,000 retweets. The following day, @Wikileaks posted a second tweet featuring a photograph of Nazi gold stored in Merkers Salt Mine, along with the message "Where is #Vault7" (shown below, middle). Two days later, the account tweeted "Who is #Vault7," along with a series of spy posters featuring Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden (shown below, right).

Release

On March 7th, 2017, Wikileaks released thousands of documents purportedly containing tools used by the CIA to hack various internet-connected devices.^[1] In a press release about the leak, Wikileaks named the first portion of the leak "Year Zero," and claimed it provides information on the CIA's "global covert hacking program," including exploits that compromise the security of iPhone, Android and Windows operating systems, as well as Samsung televisions.^[2] Additionally, the press release claimed the CIA had "zero day" exploits that could bypass the encryption of various messaging applications, including WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman.

Umbrage

In the documents, a library of cyberattack techniques codenamed "Umbrage" is described, which, according to Wikileaks, collects malware from countries like Russia to obfuscate or falsify the origin of various cyberattacks. On March 7th, Wikileaks tweeted about project Umbrage, claiming "CIA steals other groups virus and malware facilitating false flag attacks" (shown below).^[15] In the coming days, many speculated that the CIA may have planted evidence to make it appear as if Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee in light of the Umbrage leak.

Weeping Angel

Documents about the a "Weeping Angel" program included information about a technology developed with British agency MI5, which captured audio from microphones on Samsung smart TVs after being placed in a "Fake-Off" mode.

Developments

Online Reaction

That day, Redditor icatalin submitted the Wikileaks page to /r/technology,^[3] where it gathered upwards of 20,100 points (90% upvoted) and 4,700 comments within five hours. In the comments section, Redditor taylen42 commented that the leak suggested that the "CIA has more hacking capabilities than the NSA." Meanwhile, other threads reached the frontpage of the /r/Bitcoin,^[6] /r/Android^[7] and /r/netsec^[5] subreddits. Meanwhile, Edward Snowden posted several tweets about the leaks, noting that they appeared to be "a big deal" and "authentic" (shown below).^[9]

Meanwhile, the Electronic Frontier Foundation published a statement criticizing the CIA for hiding security flaws in various devices.^[10] Also on March 7th, YouTuber Philip DeFranco uploaded a video covering many of the relevant online discussions about the leaks (shown below). In less than 24 hours, the video received more than 389,000 views and 10,100 comments.

Meme Warfare Center

Also on March 7th, a page for a proposed "Meme Warfare Center" from Marine Corps Major Michael Prosser's 2005 Master of Operational Studies thesis "Memetics – A Growth Industry in US Military Operations"^[13] began circulating online, with many incorrectly attributing it to the Vault 7 leaks (shown below).^[14]

Apple's Response

That day, Apple released a statement claiming that "many of the issues leaked today were patched in the latest iOS."^[16] In response to a BuzzFeed article claiming that "Apple says it has patched the vulnerabilities mentioned in the Wikileaks dump," the @Wikileaks Twitter feed stated "No it doesn't" along with the hashtag "#FakeNews" (shown below).

Wikileaks' Press Conference

On March 9th, 2017, Wikileaks held a press conference over livestream in which founder Julian Assange answered various questions regarding the leaks (shown below). During the livestream, Assange claimed that the CIA "lost control of its entire cyberweapons arsenal" and that Wikileaks would work with various technology companies to fix security vulnerabilities discovered in the leaks.

News Media Coverage

That day, the story was covered by dozens of news sites, including The New York Times,^[4] The Washington Post^[11] and The Wall Street Journal.^[12]

Search Interest

External References