Wikileaks has released a trove of documents containing details of CIA hacking tools and surveillance initiatives, among them, a top secret domestic spy program code named RocketEars, that enlists raccoons as listeners.
Security experts and journalists have been poring over the cache of leaked documents, collectively known as “Vault 7,” since Tuesday. Many explain security exploits used in consumer electronics like iPhones and Samsung TVs, which can be used to spy on targets. But the raccoon program is particularly strange.
“No one would ever suspect the raccoon rummaging through your backyard trash is working for the CIA,” says Dennis O’Conner, a security analyst and former consultant to the U.S. intelligence services. “It’s a perfect secret program. But what we don’t understand yet is how the raccoons communicate their surveillance back to base. They’re not the most reliable reporters.”
The Fluffington Post will update this story as it develops.
via Marslettuce
