Assange: I will release more CIA documents to technology companies if attack code disarmed
WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange will publish more confidential documents on the US Central Intelligence Agency once a “key attack code” has been disarmed, he has revealed.
Speaking from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he said his group will work with technology companies to help defend them against CIA hacking tools, details of which he disclosed earlier this week.
Companies had asked for more details about the CIA cyber-espionage toolkit, said Mr Assange, adding: “We have decided to work with them, to give them some exclusive access to some of the technical details we have.”
He said some of the firms have already put counter measures in place, but others want more information.
“WikiLeaks has a lot more information on what has been going on with the cyber weapons programme,” he said. He added that WikiLeaks wants to disarm the CIA’s “key attack code” before publishing more material.
His comments came as he was described by actress Pamela Anderson as one of the most important men in the world. She said the actions of WikiLeaks were “historic” and in the interests of everybody. Speaking to host John Bishop on The Nightly Show, she said: “What he does is very important. He is exposing corruption in government and everyone should know.”
Meanwhile, Samsung has said it is “urgently” investigating claims from WikiLeaks that intelligence agencies have used the firm’s smart TVs as part of tools to spy on users.
The whistle-blowing website published thousands of documents it claims reveal the various hacking tools used by the CIA in the US, including techniques which target various consumer software including Windows, Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
WikiLeaks said software was developed to turn Samsung TVs into listening devices, a project codenamed Weeping Angel, which the report claims also included input from the UK’s MI5.
Mr Assange has been living inside the embassy for more than four years after being granted political asylum by the Ecuador government. He is wanted for questioning in Sweden over sexual assault allegations, which he denies, but faces extradition to the United States if he leaves the embassy.