Assange: WikiLeaks Will Help Tech Firms Defend Against CIA Hacking

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Publish Date:
March 9, 2017
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Source:
The Wall Street Journal
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Summary

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange handed the world’s biggest tech companies a dilemma Thursday with his offer to provide technical details about leaked U.S. government hacking tools that target their products.

A stash of 8,761 documents that WikiLeaks posted on its website Tuesday described malware and other tools it said the Central Intelligence Agency has used to exploit a wide range of commercial products including smartphones, software and equipment from Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Samsung Electronics Co., and Microsoft Corp.

Although it would be “unheard of” for the federal government to prosecute a company for using leaked classified information to improve its products, there “are some issues with the fact that the information is classified,” said Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society.

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