Foiling Foul Hackers
In the wake of WikiLeaks’ recent revelations of the CIA’s (formerly) secret hacking program, many are left with the feeling that this is the end of privacy. As The New American highlighted in our last issue’s Inside Track column, the truth is that privacy has probably never been in better shape than it is in right now, because the CIA hacking program shows that encryption works. Sometimes, the first part of good news is bad news. In this case, the bad news is very bad; but the good news is great.
First, the bad news is detailed in my article “The CIA’s Hacking Ability.” In short, the CIA spent the post-9/11 years building an arsenal of powerful hacking tools — cyberweapons — and a formidable army of hackers to use those weapons. Then, in a move that would make the Keystone Kops look brilliant by comparison, the CIA somehow managed to let those weapons loose in the world. Now, the only safe assumption is that any script-kiddie, teenaged hacker who spends his days in his mother’s basement eating cold pizza, playing video games, and stealing credit card numbers has access to government-level hacking tools.
By exploiting vulnerabilities in operating systems and the software running on those operating systems, a hacker using these cyberweapons can compromise the security of a plethora of devices — such as computers, mobile devices, and SmartTVs — and use them to watch and listen to anyone in the range of the built-in cameras and microphones. That hacker — whether state-sponsored or teenaged — can access files and folders, steal (or plant) data, and otherwise wreak havoc.
JBS Member or ShopJBS.org Customer?
Sign in with your ShopJBS.org account username and password or use that login to subscribe.
Subscribe Now
- 24 Issues Per Year
- Digital Edition Access
- Exclusive Subscriber Content
- Audio provided for all articles
- Unlimited access to past issues
- Cancel anytime.
- Renews automatically
Subscribe Now
- 24 Issues Per Year
- Print edition delivery (USA)
*Available Outside USA - Digital Edition Access
- Exclusive Subscriber Content
- Audio provided for all articles
- Unlimited access to past issues
- Cancel anytime.
- Renews automatically