WikiLeaks Publishes ‘Biggest Ever Leak of Secret CIA Documents’ & Exposes CIA Hacking Processes Through Smartphones & TV’s

AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WORRIED ABOUT THE RUSSIANS?

Yesterday Wikileaks unloaded the the biggest ever leak of CIA secret documents and detailed the tools it uses to break into phones, communication apps and other electronic devices. WikiLeaks named the leak the “Vault 7”. The leak is not only that of secret CIA documents but also how CIA hackers target smart phones, computers and Samsung F8000 TV’s.

Just how much information does the CIA have a regular, normal citizens who have never committed a crime and have never been charged with anything? Who is to say that info is not going to be used against a private citizen for political purposes? We still do have a US Constitution in this country, right?

The US intelligence agencies are facing fresh embarrassment after WikiLeaks published what it described as the biggest ever leak of confidential documents from the CIA detailing the tools it uses to break into phones, communication apps and other electronic devices.

The thousands of leaked documents focus mainly on techniques for hacking and reveal how the CIA cooperated with British intelligence to engineer a way to compromise smart televisions and turn them into improvised surveillance devices.

The leak, named “Vault 7” by WikiLeaks, will once again raise questions about the inability of US spy agencies to protect secret documents in the digital age. It follows disclosures about Afghanistan and Iraq by army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010 and about the National Security Agency and Britain’s GCHQ by Edward Snowden in 2013.

The new documents appear to be from the CIA’s 200-strong Center for Cyber Intelligence and show in detail how the agency’s digital specialists engage in hacking. Monday’s leak of about 9,000 secret files, which WikiLeaks said was only the first tranche of documents it had obtained, were all relatively recent, running from 2013 to 2016.

The revelations in the documents include:

• CIA hackers targeted smartphones and computers.
• The Center for Cyber Intelligence, based at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, has a second covert base in the US consulate in Frankfurt which covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
• A programme called Weeping Angel describes how to attack a Samsung F8000 TV set so that it appears to be off but can still be used for monitoring.

From Vault 7:

CIA malware targets iPhone, Android, smart TVs

CIA malware and hacking tools are built by EDG (Engineering Development Group), a software development group within CCI (Center for Cyber Intelligence), a department belonging to the CIA’s DDI (Directorate for Digital Innovation). The DDI is one of the five major directorates of the CIA (see this organizational chart of the CIA for more details).

The EDG is responsible for the development, testing and operational support of all backdoors, exploits, malicious payloads, trojans, viruses and any other kind of malware used by the CIA in its covert operations world-wide.

The increasing sophistication of surveillance techniques has drawn comparisons with George Orwell’s 1984, but “Weeping Angel”, developed by the CIA’s Embedded Devices Branch (EDB), which infests smart TVs, transforming them into covert microphones, is surely its most emblematic realization.

The attack against Samsung smart TVs was developed in cooperation with the United Kingdom’s MI5/BTSS. After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a ‘Fake-Off’ mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on. In ‘Fake-Off’ mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server.

As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations.

The Trump Effect: Illegal Immigration Dropped 27% in January 2017

WHO SAYS ELECTIONS DON’T HAVE CONSEQUENCES …

According to The Washington Times and a report released by Customs and Border Protection, illegal immigration dropped 27% in January 2017 as compared to compared to December 2016. It would appear that some have heard that there is a new sheriff in town in the United States and his name is President Donald Trump.

Illegal immigration across the southwest border plummeted in January, compared to December, as the flow of both illegal immigrant families and children traveling alone dried up, according to numbers released by Customs and Border Protection on Monday.

The numbers are still high compared to past years — indeed, it’s the worst January in records dating back to 2012.

But total apprehensions of migrants trying to sneak across the border fell 27 percent on a month-to-month basis, to 31,575. And the number of inadmissible migrants who showed up at the southwest’s ports of entry fell 28 percent, to 10,899.

Apprehensions are deemed an indicator of the overall flow: The more people caught, the more are believed to be getting through.

The flow always decreases in the deep months of the winter, before picking up again in the spring. Last year Border Patrol apprehensions dropped 36 percent from December to January.

Mike Pompeo Confirmed by Senate and Sworn in as Head of CIA

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate and has been sworn in as the Director of the CIA.  Pompeo is the third person appointed by President Donald Trump to be confirmed to his cabinet position, as Senate Democrats and Chuck Schumer play petty party politics in delaying Trump’s choices. The vote was 66-32. Pompeo was sworn in Monday evening by Vice President Pence.

The Senate on Monday confirmed Rep. Mike Pompeo to be director of the CIA, following a spirited debate in which Democrats expressed concern about his stances on domestic surveillance, data collection and torture.

The vote was 66 to 32, with a majority of Democrats voting no — as well as Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Pompeo was subsequently sworn in.

“The president and I are confident in your abilities and know you will rise to the challenge to lead the Central Intelligence Agency,” Vice President Mike Pence said at the swearing-in.

White House.gov Website With Trump as President Now Standing Up for Law Enforcement

THERE IS A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN AND HE BACK LAW ENFORCEMENT …

Part of making America great again is making law enforcement effective again. They now know they have the backing of the White House. Mere minutes after Donald J. Trump took the oath of office as the 45th President of the United States and the White House.gov web page got an immediate and well deserved makeover. There was no more of Obama’s change you can believe in, but instead change we could live with and want. Gone was any reference to global warming, oh sorry, I mean climate change. Added was a page ‘Standing Up for Law Enforcement Community.’

Last night at the ‘Salute To Our Armed Services Ball,’ that also included law enforcement and first responders, Donald Trump put all on notice that those in the military and law enforcement were top on his list

The past eight years of Barack Obama has seen chaos on the streets and an administration that all too often took the sides of the criminals and questioned the police’s actions. Obama continually found himself making judgements before the facts were in like during Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates/Cambridge, MA police Sgt. James Crowley, Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, and so on and so on. Every time, law enforcement was deemed guilty until proved innocent and the suspect was considered a law-abiding, stand up citizen. No more, under a Trump administration the White House will stand with law enforcement as it states, “A Trump Administration will empower our law enforcement officers to do their jobs and keep our streets free of crime and violence. The Trump Administration will be a law and order administration. President Trump will honor our men and women in uniform and will support their mission of protecting the public. The dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong. The Trump Administration will end it.”

Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community

One of the fundamental rights of every American is to live in a safe community. A Trump Administration will empower our law enforcement officers to do their jobs and keep our streets free of crime and violence. The Trump Administration will be a law and order administration. President Trump will honor our men and women in uniform and will support their mission of protecting the public. The dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong. The Trump Administration will end it.

The Trump Administration is committed to reducing violent crime. In 2015, homicides increased by 17% in America’s fifty largest cities. That’s the largest increase in 25 years. In our nation’s capital, killings have risen by 50 percent. There were thousands of shootings in Chicago last year alone.

Our country needs more law enforcement, more community engagement, and more effective policing.

Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter. Our job is to make life more comfortable for parents who want their kids to be able to walk the streets safely. Or the senior citizen waiting for a bus. Or the young child walking home from school.

Supporting law enforcement means supporting our citizens’ ability to protect themselves. We will uphold Americans’ Second Amendment rights at every level of our judicial system.

President Trump is committed to building a border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities. He is dedicated to enforcing our border laws, ending sanctuary cities, and stemming the tide of lawlessness associated with illegal immigration.

Supporting law enforcement also means deporting illegal aliens with violent criminal records who have remained within our borders.

It is the first duty of government to keep the innocent safe, and President Donald Trump will fight for the safety of every American, and especially those Americans who have not known safe neighborhoods for a very long time.

Two Teen Juveniles Charged with Arson in Tennessee Wildfires that Left 14 People Dead … Might Be Charged as Adults

Two teen juveniles have been charged with aggravated arson in connection with the wildfires that tore through Eastern Tennessee, including Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, that killed 14 people and damaging or destroying hundreds of buildings and properties. It is not known yet whether the two teens will be charged as adults. According to 4th District Attorney General James Dunn, additional charges are being considered, including the possibility of seeking a transfer to adult criminal court. The youths were from Tennessee, but not from Sevier County, where the fires started. At this time, there is no additional information about the youths was made available, including their age and gender.

The question is … should these two juveniles be charged as adults for the crimes, deaths and wide spread damage they caused?

Two juveniles have been charged with aggravated arson in connection with the wildfires that ravaged two East Tennessee resort towns last week, killing 14 people and leaving nearly 150 others injured and damaging or destroying hundreds of properties, authorities said Wednesday.

During an investigation involving local, state and federal agents, “information was developed that two juveniles allegedly started the fire” that roared through Great Smoky Mountains National Park before spreading into Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.

Both were taken into custody Wednesday and are being held at the Sevier County Juvenile Detention Center.

The suspects are Tennessee residents, District Attorney General Jimmy B. Dunn said at a news conference in Sevierville. No additional information about the youths was made available, including their age and gender.