WASHINGTON -- The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks raised the prospect Wednesday of sharing sensitive details it uncovered about CIA hacking tools with leading technology companies whose flagship products and services were targeted by the government's hacker-spies.
If that sharing takes place, the unusual cooperation would give companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and others an opportunity to identify and repair any flaws in their software and devices that were being exploited by U.S. spy agencies and some foreign allies, as described in nearly 9,000 pages of secret CIA files WikiLeaks published Tuesday.
The documents, which the White House declined to confirm as authentic, describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, anti-virus tools and other protective security features for computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs. They include the world's most popular technology platforms, including Apple's iPhones and iPads, Google's Android phones and the Microsoft Windows operating system for desktop computers and laptops.
"This is the kind of disclosure that undermines our security, our country and our well-being," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. "This alleged leak should concern every single American."
Spicer defended then-candidate Donald Trump's comment in October 2016 -- "I love WikiLeaks!" -- after it published during the presidential campaign private, politically damaging emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign manager. Spicer said there was a "massive, massive difference" between WikiLeaks publishing stolen, personal emails of a political figure and files about national security tools used by the CIA.
The CIA has declined to confirm that the documents are authentic. But Wednesday, the agency said Americans should be "deeply troubled" by the disclosures.
WikiLeaks has not released the actual hacking tools themselves, some of which were developed by government hackers while others were purchased from outsiders. WikiLeaks indicated it was still considering its options but said in a statement Wednesday: "Tech companies are saying they need more details of CIA attack techniques to fix them faster. Should WikiLeaks work directly with them?" It wasn't clear whether WikiLeaks -- a strident critic of Google and Facebook, among others -- was serious about such action.
A message seeking additional details from WikiLeaks was not immediately returned, and an attempt to speak to founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London on Tuesday was rebuffed.
Security experts said WikiLeaks was obligated to work privately with technology companies to disclose previously unknown software flaws, known as zero-day vulnerabilities because consumers would have no time to discover how to defend themselves against their use, and with companies that design protection software. WikiLeaks has said the latest files apparently have been circulating among former U.S. government hackers and contractors.
"The clear move is to notify vendors," said Chris Wysopal, co-founder and chief technology officer of Veracode Inc. "If WikiLeaks has this data then it's likely others have this data, too. The binaries and source code that contain zero days should be shared with people who build detection and signatures for a living."
The political fallout and damage to U.S. intelligence operations was still being assessed. The former head of the CIA and National Security Agency, Michael Hayden, sought to assure people that the U.S. would use such cyber-weapons only against foreign targets.
"I can tell you that these tools would not be used against an American," Hayden said Tuesday night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
"But there are people out there that you want us to spy on. You want us to have the ability to actually turn on that listening device inside the TV, to learn that person's intentions."
Information for this article was contributed by Ken Thomas, Deb Riechmann and Michael Liedtke of The Associated Press.
A Section on 03/09/2017