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                                                                                           TECHNOLOGY Thursday 9 March 2017



















              WikiLeaks fallout: Should you worry about alleged CIA hacks?


            MAE ANDERSON                                                                                                        are “unbreakable” by law
            TALI ARBEL                                                                                                          enforcement.      Younger
            BARBARA ORTUTAY                                                                                                     people were more likely to
             AP Technology Writers                                                                                              support  strong  encryption,
            NEW YORK (AP) — So, you                                                                                             as were Democrats.
            use  messaging  apps  like                                                                                          If  they’re  authentic,  the
            WhatsApp  or  Signal  or                                                                                            leaked  CIA  documents
            have  smart  TVs  and  PCs.                                                                                         frame  one  stark  reality:
            Should  you  worry  that  the                                                                                       It  may  be  that  no  digital
            CIA is listening to your con-                                                                                       conversation,   photo   or
            versations?                                                                                                         other  slice  of  life  can  be
            The short answer is no. The                                                                                         shielded  from  spies  and
            long  answer  is  maybe,                                                                                            other  intruders  prying  into
            though it’s still unlikely you                                                                                      smartphones,    computers
            need to be too concerned.                                                                                           or other devices connect-
            WikiLeaks  revelations  de-                                                                                         ed to the internet.
            scribing  secret  CIA  hack-                                                                                        Another reality: Many may
            ing  tools  allegedly  used                                                                                         not care.
            to  break  into  computers,                                                                                         “People have fatigue in this
            mobile  phones  and  even                                                                                           area, especially when talk-
            smart  TVs  could  certainly                                                                                        ing  about  data  breaches,
            have  real-life  implications                                                                                       and to a degree, hacking,”
            for  anyone  using  internet-  This  Feb.  19,  2014,  file  photo,  shows  WhatsApp  and  Facebook  app  icons  on  a  smartphone  in   said  Eva  Velasquez,  presi-
            connected      technology.   New  York.  So,  you  use  messaging  apps  like  WhatsApp  or  Signal  or  have  smart  TVs  and  PCs.    dent  of  the  Identity  Theft
            In  particular,  the  WikiLe-  Associated Press                                                                     Resource    Center,   who
            aks  documents  suggest                                                                                             says it’s difficult to imagine
            the CIA has attempted to     hacking  and  surveillance,  the FBI and with other do-   “At this point, I am so used   what kind of abuses would
            turn  TVs  into  listening  de-  Marshello  says  he  won’t  mestic  law  enforcement  to  reading  stories  about   force  them  to  abandon
            vices and to circumvent —    cut  his  iPhone  or  modern  agencies  that  could  em-  accounts  getting  hacked    their smartphones. “People
            though  not  crack  —  mes-  messaging  apps  out  of  his  ploy them domestically.    that  it  is  to  be  expected,”   love their fun toys and de-
            sage  apps  that  employ     life. But he doesn’t have a  Ed  Mierzwinski,  consumer  Matt Holden, an editor and    vices,” she said.
            protective  data  scram-     smart TV and doesn’t plan  program  director  at  con-    social media coordinator in   THE  INTERNET  OF  SPYING
            bling.                       to get one, he keeps his mi-  sumer  advocacy  group  Dallas, Texas, said via email.   THINGS
            But for people weary of a    crophone  unplugged  and  U.S.  PIRG,  said  the  news  Holden  worries  about  the    “We don’t know about the
            seemingly constant revela-   camera  covered  when  should  alert  consumers  to  safety of personal informa-       CIA role, but we do know
            tions of hacks, government   he’s  not  using  his  PC  and  how  vulnerable  internet-  tion  like  his  social  security   anything  with  a  chip  in  it
            spying and security worries,   he  has  voice  recognition  connected devices are.     number  and  financial  de-  that  is  connected  to  the
            the news came as no sur-     turned off on his phone.     “You  shouldn’t  be  too  tails, but says he’s less con-  Internet  is  vulnerable  to
            prise.                       He’s  not  alone.  Last  year,  concerned  about  the  CIA  cerned  about  the  security   hacking,” said Gartner se-
            “Today’s  leaks  definitely   Facebook CEO Mark Zuck-     hacking  you  unless  you’re  of his messaging apps.      curity analyst Avivah Litan.
            concern  me,  but  at  this   erberg was photographed  doing  something  illegal,”  “So long as I conduct my-       A  hacking  attack  last  Oc-
            point  I  have  accepted     with his laptop camera and  he said. “But this should be  self  in  a  way  that  would   tober  that  disrupted  sites
            that  security  risks  are  an   microphone  covered  with  a wakeup call for the aver-  mean  I  have  nothing  to   such as Amazon and Net-
            inherent  part  of  our  mod-  tape.  Some  online  called  age consumer.”             hide,  then  I’m  not  worried   flix, for instance, originated
            ern  technology,”  Andrew    him  paranoid;  others  sug-  He  recommended  chang-     about the government tak-    on internet-connected de-
            Marshello,  a  soundboard    gested  he  was  just  being  ing passwords on smart TVs,  ing a look,” he said.       vices such as home video-
            operator  from  Queens,      smart.                       cameras  and  other  con-    In  a  recent  Pew  survey  ,   cams.
            New  York,  said  by  email.   WHY IT MATTERS             nected  devices  as  often  conducted  in  the  spring    “Basically   the   ‘Internet
            “Since that tech is so inte-  “What  everybody  should  as  you  change  computer  of  2016  and  released  this    of  things’  is  vulnerable
            grated into our society, it’s   be  asking  is  whether  any  passwords.  “Whether  it’s  January,  46  percent  of  re-  and  has  been  deployed
            hard  to  take  the  reason-  of  this  was  shared  with  lo-  your   refrigerator,   smart  spondents   thought   the   without  thinking  of  secu-
            able  step  —  cutting  out   cal law enforcement,” said  lights  you  program  from  government     should   be    rity first,” Litan said. Anyone
            smart  devices,  messaging   Scott Vernick, a partner at  your  phone  or  your  baby  able  to  access  encrypted   with reason to think some-
            apps, etc. — without sacri-  the law firm Fox Rothschild  monitor,  the  security  sys-  communications  when  in-  one  might  be  spying  on
            ficing a part of social life.”  who focuses on data priva-  tems  in  most  ‘internet  of  vestigating  crimes.  Only   them  “should  think  twice
            While  he’s  “definitely  wor-  cy  and  security.  Meaning,  things’  products  are  actu-  44  percent  thought  tech   about a connected car or
            ried”  about  deeper  impli-  whether  the  CIA  shared  ally dumb, not smart.”        companies should be able     a connected camera.”q
            cations  of  governmental    any of the techniques with  PRIVACY FATIGUE               to use encryption tools that
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