Vault 7: Wikileaks shows Comrades at CIA can Access Macs and iPhones

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The CIA has tools for hacking Macs and iPhones.

What's particularly interesting about the documents is that they appear to show that the CIA had the ability to exploit Apple hardware and software a full decade ago.

Not all of the hacks revealed in Dark Matter are quite so old, however. The user guide for Sonic Screwdriver, for instance, was updated as recently as November 2012. It shows how a Thunderbolt or USB port can be used to infect and access a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, right up to mid-2012 models.

Of course, this doesn't surprise you, does it? Every country seems to be ridiculously more paranoid about their own population than those of other countries, including their enemies.

Screwdriver and Screwdriver

Ars Technia has a wonderful article on the Sonic Screwdriver. (And no, we're not talking about the adult beverage containing Swarovski Alizé Vodka).

The following juicy bit from Tech News World, is simply diabolically clever:

The CIA's Embedded Development Branch developed malware that could persist even if the targeted computer were reformatted and its OS were reinstalled, according to data WikiLeaks exposed.

Recall the brouhaha over the so-called unlocked San Bernardino shooters' iPhone between Apple and the government?

Let me state this: that iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter was cracked so fast and so efficiently it would have made your head spin.

The fight between Apple CEO Tim "The Pinhead" Cook and the government was a dog and pony show. Apple didn't want their customers knowing their phones weren't secure and do you really think the government is going to let any company have such a degree of encryption that it can't be hacked? I have a nice shiny bridge in San Fran to sell you if you believe the above.

(The "Pinhead" reference to Cook is exactly that, btw - I think he's a pinhead who is a spot-light whore. And a poor CEO, but that's another story.)

"1984"  is taking it's sweet time in arriving. But with as quickly as technology is progressing  - ("...modem...modem..." anyone even remember them?) - we're nearing a generation of people who have no idea what a modem is/was.  "1984" is catching up to us, so quickly, that both the legality issues and privacy issues lag behind technological growth and advancement.

The Singularity is here. Welcome to 1984. Welcome to Big Brother.

If you have any questions, please direct them to The Ministry of Truth.

Additional  Reading on this subject at: 

C/NET: CIA Tools

Wired: How CIA can hack MACS

Heavy: Factory Fresh CIA Bugged Cell Phones