Vault 7: CIA hacking tools
Verified: Documented in primary records or confirmed by reputable inquiry/reporting.
WikiLeaks began publishing what it called a trove of CIA cyber-espionage documents, 8,761 documents and files by its own count. The CIA at first had no comment and later gave an expanded response claiming no wrongdoing.
Confirmed
A Manhattan federal jury convicted a former CIA software engineer on nine counts on 13 July 2022 (AP). A judge sentenced him to 40 years on 1 February 2024, comparing the leak to a "digital Pearl Harbor" (Courthouse News).
Claimed, disputed or not established
WikiLeaks said the CIA had "lost control" of its hacking arsenal; a computer scientist quoted by NPR called that story implausible and saw little new about CIA capabilities in the documents.
Reported impact
Prosecutors called it one of the largest unauthorised disclosures of classified information in US history.
Sources (opened in a new tab)
- NPR: WikiLeaks releases what it calls CIA trove ↗https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/07/519010317/wikileaks-releases-what-it-calls-cia-trove-of-cyberespionage-documents
- Defense One: CIA claims no wrongdoing ↗https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2017/03/cia-Claims-No-Wrongdoing-as-wikileaks-claims-publish-thousands-agency-files/135954/
- Associated Press: ex-CIA engineer convicted ↗https://apnews.com/article/technology-new-york-city-software-theft-853c3c08e4b5ab20154d3059ec36ec60
- Courthouse News: former CIA coder sentenced to 40 years ↗https://www.courthousenews.com/former-cia-coder-sentenced-to-40-years-in-prison-for-wikileaks-vault-7-breach/
Connected
- Agencies: CIA
- Related leaks: Vault 8: Hive source code · Shadow Brokers and the Equation Group tools
- Case board · Timeline (2017) · Document vault · How we verify leaks
This page describes and cites public reporting. It does not host or link to leaked files, and it names no private individuals.