Snowden On WikiLeaks’ Vault 7: ‘USG Secretly Paying To Keep US Software Unsafe’


Edward Snowden chimed in on Twitter about the latest WikiLeaks release which WikiLeaks called “Vault 7 Part 1 ‘Year Zero.'” Snowden told his Twitter followers that the main takeaway from the CIA story that is trending on social media should be that the WikiLeaks release is the “first public evidence” that the U.S. government is “secretly paying to keep US software unsafe.”

“The CIA reports show the USG developing vulnerabilities in US products, then intentionally keeping the holes open,” Snowden claimed. “Reckless beyond words.”

WikiLeaks released thousands of documents Tuesday, as Inquisitr reported that WikiLeaks would. WikiLeaks claimed Tuesday that the much-awaited files and documents exposed the Central Intelligence Agency’s own spying network.

WikiLeaks claimed that the CIA could hack smartphones, operating systems, messenger applications, and even the more modern televisions that are connected to the internet. WikiLeaks‘ release purportedly consists of 8.761 documents and files from the Agency’s Center for Cyber Intelligence. WikiLeaks calls the complete series “Vault 7,” is using the hashtag “#Vault7” and claims that it is the “largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency,” the Wall Street Journal reports. At the time of publication, WSJ also reported that a CIA spokesperson declined to comment on the authenticity of the WikiLeaks‘ release.

Protests during a rally against mass surveillance, like that purported to be possible by WikiLeaks’ Vault 7, indicated support of Edward Snowden. [Image by Rena Schild/Shutterstock]

An intelligence source told WSJ that Vault 7 information was far more significant than the leaks of Edward Snowden which revealed the names of programs and companies involved in secret surveillance and some of the targets of the American government’s spying. Vault 7 purportedly reveals technical details about how the spying is actually carried out. WikiLeaks said that it does not intend to publish computer source code because it could be used to replicate the tools.

WikiLeaks claims that the document dump is only the first in the series and that the information came from an unidentified source who believes the CIA’s hacking authorities “urgently need to be debated in public, including whether the CIA’s hacking capabilities exceed its mandated powers and the problem of public oversight of the agency.”

Man photographs a billboard supporting WikiLeaks, which just released the first installment of Vault 7. Snowden says the release appears authentic. [Image by Richard Frazier/Shutterstock]

WikiLeaks reported that the CIA has amassed the ability to turn even some televisions into covert microphones. WikiLeaks claimed that one document indicated that the CIA worked with British Intelligence to develop a program that can hack into smart TVs, place them into a fake off mode, and then record the conversations happening in the room.

Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, exposed active spying programs in 2013. He says that the main issue that people should be upset about is that it leaves U.S. citizens and companies vulnerable to hackers.

“Why is this dangerous? Because until closed, any hacker can use the security hole the CIA left open to break into any iPhone in the world.”

Jake Williams of the security firm Rendition Infosec reportedly told USA Today that Vault 7 is a “treasure trove of information,” mirroring the apparent biggest concerns issued by Edward Snowden.

“We are regularly dealing with corporations being attacked by nation-state hacking groups. This gives us a lot of insight into how they do it.”

Meanwhile, the internet is in an uproar, and #Vault7 is the most trending hashtag on Twitter. Some are now claiming that even “[T]he ‘Russian hacking’ was a false flag by the CIA.”

Still, Snowden seems to be withholding from engaging in a similar narrative on social media. Rather than speculating on how the CIA may have actually used the WikiLeaks-purported tools, Snowden says that the biggest story is actually that the “CIA & FBI knew about catastrophic weaknesses in the most-used smartphones in America, but kept them open — to spy.”

[Featured Image by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images]

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