Google, Microsoft Still Waiting On Wikileaks To Deliver CIA Hacking Tools

It’s been two days since Julian Assange promised Wikileaks would hand over more information on Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hacker tools to tech giants. That pledge followed a leak of nearly 9,000 documents that Wikileaks claimed belonged to CIA hacking units.

But while that altruistic move should help protect every one of their users from cyberattack, neither Google nor Microsoft had received details from Wikileaks on vulnerabilities in their software by Saturday morning, according to sources familiar with the companies’ security teams.

Google did not offer official comment, but two sources close to the company’s security staff said there had been no contact. One said there was now concern Wikileaks had duped the public with a PR move of little to no substance, though on Thursday one external Android security expert who’d reviewed the CIA files said it appeared there were multiple vulnerabilities Google would need to address.

“We’ve seen Julian Assange’s statement and have not yet been contacted,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an emailed statement Friday, originally sent to press on Thursday the same day Assange claimed Wikileaks would help provide “antidotes” for CIA exploits before publishing them. As of Saturday, Microsoft had not provided any further update, after Forbes’ enquiries. Wikileaks had not returned requests for comment.

The Microsoft spokesperson added: “Our preferred method for anyone with knowledge of security issues, including the CIA or Wikileaks, is to submit details to us at [email protected] so we can review information and take any necessary steps to protect customers.”

While the Wikileaks Vault 7 leak also affected Apple products, from iPhones to Macs, the Cupertino firm had not provided any comment at the time of publication. Samsung, whose smart TVs were targeted by CIA hackers as part of a joint research project with Britain’s MI5 spy agency, also hadn’t responded to enquiries.

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Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File