The Most Horrifying CIA Leak Ever (Video)

In this 13 November 2026 published video, host Alessi Allaman talks about the CIA. In terms of sheer scale and technical danger, the Vault 7 leak is officially recognized by federal prosecutors as the largest loss of classified data in CIA history. Vault 7 is a series of classified documents published by WikiLeaks beginning on March 7, 2017. The files detail the electronic surveillance and cyber warfare capabilities of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 

The archive consists of thousands of files originating from the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence, covering activities from 2013 to 2016. The first installment, dubbed “Year Zero,” included 8,761 documents and files. An internal CIA audit later revealed that the leak exposed 91 malware tools out of the more than 500 tools the agency used in 2016. While WikiLeaks published technical documentation and descriptions of the projects, it withheld the actual executable malware binaries. The documents revealed that the CIA used the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, as a covert base of operations for hackers targeting Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. 

The documents showed that the CIA developed malware and exploited “zero-day” software vulnerabilities across a wide array of consumer and enterprise technology. Projects targeted iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. Tools like “Dark Matter” and “Sonic Screwdriver” infected Apple firmware so malware would survive even if the operating system was reinstalled. A project called “Weeping Angel” compromised Samsung smart televisions to secretly record audio even when the screen appeared turned off. Other files explored ways to infect vehicle control systems. Tools targeted Cisco routers and switches for data exfiltration. Another tool, “ELSA,” tracked Windows laptops by logging nearby Wi-Fi signals to triangulate a target’s physical location. Rather than breaking the encryption of apps like Signal or WhatsApp, CIA tools compromised the underlying operating system to capture audio and messages before encryption occurred. 

Major technology companies rushed to patch the exposed vulnerabilities. The leak also reignited public debate over the U.S. government’s Vulnerabilities Equities Process, questioning whether intelligence agencies should stockpile security flaws instead of reporting them to manufacturers. Former CIA software engineer Joshua Schulte was arrested and charged with stealing and leaking the files. After an initial mistrial on the core espionage charges, Schulte was convicted in a 2022 retrial and subsequently sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

https://youtu.be/tI9yXn8_Wz8