Assange: WikiLeaks Will Give Tech Companies Detailed Access to CIA Exploits

Aims to Allow Companies to Fix Security Before Publishing Details

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange today offered more details on the release process for the CIA hacking data they have come into possession of, saying that more detailed information about specific exploits would be given to the related technology companies to allow them to patch the security holes before the information is more widely publicized.

This appears aimed at CIA complaints that the WikiLeaks publication of their massive collection of exploits would allow “America’s adversaries” to use those exploits to conduct their own surveillance, much as the CIA is currently doing.

Of course the reality is a lot of these security holes probably were known by more than a few governments already, and the real danger from the CIA perspective is that they get fixed, denying them the ability to compromise many, many pieces of technology.

Assange confirmed that a number of technology companies began reaching out after the revelation they’d acquire the cache of CIA tools, and that companies like Google, Apple, and Samsung are being given early access with an eye toward making quick repairs on the biggest security holes.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.