WikiLeaks today released Vault 7 'Grasshopper', a new set of documents revealing the malicious software (malware) developed by the CIA to compromise Windows systems to bypass anti-virus software.
The 27 documents published by WikiLeaks are said to come from the CIA's so-called Grasshopper framework, a platform classified as "secret" by the intelligence service of USA, and which is supposed to be available only to members of the CIA.
Today's leak shows how the CIA developed and uses malware that can go undetected even by the world's top anti-virus software, such as Kaspersky and Symantec. The malware cannot be detected even by its security solution Microsoft, Windows Defender.
The documents reveal internal guidelines used by the CIA to collection information from systems (with Windows), depending on the version of the operating system and installed security products.
A separate section of today's leaks is called Stolen Goods (Version 2), and represents malware developed by cyber criminals around the world and modified by the CIA for its own purposes. Such a malicious software is also Carberp, a malicious software created by a hacker believed to be from Russia.
WikiLeaks reports that the specific CIA tools have been in use since 2012 and by 2015 had received several updates that added more improvements and new characteristics.
The CIA has already responded and in a statement denies all these allegations, stating that the agency does not make "any comment on the authenticity of the alleged documents."
"The American public should be deeply concerned by the Wikileaks revelations that are designed to damage the intelligence community's ability to protect America against terrorists and other rivals. These revelations do not only endanger US personnel and businesses, but also equip our opponents with tools and information that make us bad"Reports the service.
