CIA contractors likely breached security and handed over documents about the agency's use of hacking tools to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
Two officials speaking on condition of anonymity said intelligence agencies have been aware since the end of last year of the breach, which led to WikiLeaks releasing thousands of pages of information on its website on Tuesday.
According to the documents, Central Intelligence Agency hackers could get into Apple Inc iPhones, devices running Google's Android software and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.
The White House said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was "extremely concerned" about the CIA security breach that led to the WikiLeaks release.
"Anybody who leaks classified information will be held to the highest degree of law," spokesman Sean Spicer said.
The two officials told Reuters they believed the published documents about CIA hacking techniques used between 2013 and 2016 were authentic.
One of the officials with knowledge of the investigation said companies that are contractors for the CIA have been checking to see which of their employees had access to the material that WikiLeaks published, and then going over their computer logs, emails and other communications for any evidence of who might be responsible.
On Tuesday in a press release, WikiLeaks itself said the CIA had "lost control" of an archive of hacking methods and it appeared to have been circulated "among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorised manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive."
The CIA, which is the United States' civilian foreign intelligence service, declined to comment on the authenticity of purported intelligence documents.
The agency said in a statement that its mission was to collect foreign intelligence abroad "to protect America from terrorists, hostile nation states and other adversaries" and to be "innovative, cutting-edge, and the first line of defence in protecting this country from enemies abroad."
The CIA is legally prohibited from surveillance inside the United States and "does not do so", the statement added.
CONTRACTORS MUST BE 'LOYAL TO AMERICA'
A U.S. government source familiar with the matter said it would be normal for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the CIA both to open investigations into such leaks. U.S. officials previously have confirmed that prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia for years have been conducting a federal grand jury investigation of WikiLeaks and its personnel.
A spokesman for the prosecutors declined to comment on the possibility of that probe being expanded. It is not clear if the investigation of the latest CIA leaks is part of the probe.
Contractors have been revealed as the source of sensitive government information leaks in recent years, most notably Edward Snowden and Harold Thomas Martin, both employed by consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton while working for the National Security Agency.
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and a Democrat on the intelligence committee, said the government needed to stop the breaches.
"I think we really need to take a look at the contractor portion of the employee workforce, because you have to be loyal to America to work for an intelligence agency, otherwise don't do it," Feinstein said.
Both U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committees have either opened or are expected to open inquiries into the CIA breach, congressional officials said.
Some cyber security experts and technology companies have criticized the government for opting to exploit rather than disclose software vulnerabilities, though an interagency review process set up under former President Barack Obama was intended to err on the side of disclosure.
Those concerns would grow if U.S. authorities did not notify companies that CIA documents describing various hacking techniques had been compromised.
Apple, Alphabet Inc's Google, Cisco Systems Inc and Oracle Corp did not immediately respond when asked if they were notified of a CIA breach before WikiLeaks made its files public.
At Apple, none of the vulnerabilities described in the documents provoked a panic, though analysis was continuing, according to a person who spoke with engineers there.
LARGER NUMBER OF CONTRACTORS
One reason the investigation is focused on a potential leak by contractors rather than for example a hack by Russian intelligence, another official said, is that so far there is no evidence that Russian intelligence agencies tried to exploit any of the leaked material before it was published.
One European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the WikiLeaks material could in fact lead to closer cooperation between European intelligence agencies and U.S. counterparts, which share concerns about Russian intelligence operations.
U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of seeking to tilt last year's U.S. presidential election in Trump's favour, including by hacking into Democratic Party emails. Moscow has denied the allegation.
One major security problem was that the number of contractors with access to information with the highest secrecy classification has "exploded" because of federal budget constraints, the first U.S. official said.
U.S. intelligence agencies have been unable to hire additional permanent staff needed to keep pace with technological advances such as the "internet of things" that connects cars, home security and heating systems and other devices to computer networks, or to pay salaries competitive with the private sector, the official said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents.
A person familiar with WikiLeaks’ activities said the group has had the CIA hacking material for months, and that the release of the material was in the works "for a long time."
In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutor's office said that it would review the WikiLeaks documents because some suggested that the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt.
"We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators," a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office told Reuters.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit Washington on March 14 for her first meeting with Trump, who has sharply criticized Berlin for everything from its trade policy to what he considers inadequate levels of military spending.
Reuters
Thu Mar 09 2017
The lobby of the CIA Headquarters Building is pictured in Langley, Virginia, U.S. on August 14, 2008. REUTERS/File
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Guinea-Bissau akur kepada Israel, tidak beri kebenaran guna bendera bagi misi pelayaran
Kerajaan Republik Guinea-Bissau dilaporkan tunduk dan akur kepada gesaan Israel untuk tidak membenarkan misi pelayaran Break The Siege: Freedom Flotilla to Gaza menggunakan bendera mereka.
Penyakit berkaitan haba dikhuatiri meningkat di Gaza
Penularan penyakit berkaitan haba panas menjadi kebimbangan terbaharu di Gaza selepas suhu luar jangka melampau melanda wilayah itu setiap hari. Ia sudah semestinya diburukkan lagi dengan kekurangan air bersih dan ketiadaan sistem pembuangan sisa pepejal yang sepatutnya wujud di sesebuah kawasan didiami manusia.
Ilhan Omar melawat peserta tunjuk perasaan
Wakil Dewan Perwakilan Amerika Syarikat (AS) Ilhan Omar mengadakan lawatan di kampus penyokong Pro Palestin di Universiti Columbia New York pada Khamis.
Dua lelaki didakwa jadi 'tali barut' kepada China
Dua lelaki yang mana salah seorangnya pernah bertugas di Parlimen United Kingdom (UK) enjalani proses perbicaraan di mahkamah London pada Jumaat selepas didakwa menjadi tali barut menyalurkan maklumat sulit kerajaan kepada negara tembok besar itu.
Polis serbu pejabat 'Save the Children' di Guatemala
Polis Guatemala melakukan serbuan mengejut ke atas pejabat-pejabat Pertubuhan Save the Children di pelbagai lokasi di negara itu. Ia bagi mencari bukti dakwaan pertubuhan yang memperjuangkan kebajikan kanak-kanak itu, terlibat dalam jenayah penderaan terhadap golongan itu.
LIMA '25 dianjurkan pada 20-24 Mei tahun depan
Pameran Maritim dan Aeroangkasa Antarabangsa Langkawi 2025 (LlMA ‘25) akan dianjurkan pada 20 hingga 24 Mei tahun depan bertemakan Innovate Today, Thrive Tomorrow.
Malaysia komited tingkat hubungan dua hala bersama Libya
Malaysia terus komited mempertingkatkan hubungan dua hala yang berterusan bersama Libya demi manfaat bersama dalam pelbagai sektor.
Demi rakyat, Zahid-Muhyiddin henti saman fitnah
Presiden Umno, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi dan Presiden Bersatu, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin bersepakat untuk menamatkan pertikaian peribadi antara mereka.
Sultan Selangor berangkat ke Majlis Bacaan Yassin di Pangkalan TLDM
Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah yang juga Kepten Yang Dipertua Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) berkenan berangkat ke Pangkalan TLDM Lumut di Perak bagi menghadiri Majlis Bacaan Yasin, Tahlil dan Khutbah Khas sempena Sambutan Hari TLDM ke-90.
PM Anwar pulangkan elaun Pengerusi Khazanah
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim memaklumkan beliau memulangkan elaun sebagai pengerusi Khazanah Nasional Berhad yang diterimanya dan sekali lagi menegaskan tidak menerima gaji bagi jawatan Perdana Menteri yang disandangnya sejak November 2022.
Pengesahan pembayaran Google Play Store kelak akan buang sokongan kata laluan
Google dilihat akan membuang sokongan kata laluan bagi menggalakkan pengguna mengesahkan pembayaran dengan sistem biometri.
Bukan hanya Apple, 'spyware' juga beri risiko kepada pengguna Android
Teknologi yang diguna pakai bagi pembangunan 'spyware' bukanlah seperti virus biasa, yang mampu disekat oleh aplikasi antivirus.
Find My Device oleh Google bakal berfungsi seakan Apple Find My tidak lama lagi
Sistem baharu ini akan menggunakan peranti Android yang aktif di sekeliling pengguna sebagai nod pengesanan seperti mana dilakukan Apple.
Truecaller kini menghalang panggilan spam dengan AI
Truecaller adalah aplikasi panggilan telefon yang dikenali ramai. Ini kerana Truecaller telah membantu ramai orang membanteras panggilan spam.
Rekaan Epic Game Store diperlihatkan - Gedung aplikasi untuk Android dan iOS
Epic masih berperang dengan Apple atas tidak berpuas hati terhadap peraturan gedung aplikasi yang ditetapkan.
WhatsApp uji ciri mesej suara ke transkrip untuk Android pula
Ciri ini masih dalam pembangunan dan ia mungkin akan tiba dalam masa terdekat.
Google I/O 2024 akan berlangsung pada 14 Mei
CEO Google, Sundar Pichai akan memberi ucap tama di Shoreline Amphitheater.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Apple mudahkan pengguna iPhone pindah ke Android hujung tahun ini
Proses meninggalkan iPhone untuk berpindah ke Android akan dipermudahkan menjelang penghujung 2024 atau awal 2025.
Windows 11 henti sokong aplikasi Android bermula 2025
Aplikasi yang telah dipasang akan boleh terus digunakan.