The hacking tools used by the Central Intelligence Agency may have been involved in at least 40 cyberattacks in 16 countries, according to the computer security company Symantec.
Symantec said its report issued Monday was based on CIA files released by WikiLeaks last month. It found that tools in WikiLeaks' recent releases have been linked to the electronic infiltration of international, financial, energy and aerospace organizations across the world.
Companies, universities and government departments were all subject to attacks, with the Middle East being the primary target for attacks.
The word "CIA'' was not mentioned in Symantec's post, but few if any doubt that that's where the tools come from. When WikiLeaks began releasing them in early March, it gave an unusually explicit account of how the tools had been taken from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence.
The CIA refused to comment directly on the report by Symantec or on the authenticity of the documents released by WikiLeaks. Instead, a spokesman defended the agency's efforts to "aggressively collect foreign intelligence," and said the U.S. public should be "deeply troubled" by WikiLeaks' behavior.