A day after Apple and Samsung announced that they had fixed or were working to fix vulnerabilities referenced in WikiLeaks’ data dump of alleged “Vault 7” CIA documents, Google has followed suit, noting that it has addressed any exploitable vulnerabilities in its Android and Chrome OS devices.
ZDNet reports that Google believes security updates and protections for both systems will protect users from any kind of intrusions.
According to the documents released Tuesday, the CIA’s Mobile Devices Branch had developed attacks that remotely hack and control popular smartphones — including both Apple iOS and Android-based devices — in order to collect sensitive information such as audio, text messages, and location data.
“As we’ve reviewed the documents, we’re confident that security updates and protections in both Chrome and Android already shield users from many of these alleged vulnerabilities,” Heather Adkins, Google’s director of information security and privacy said in a statement to ZDNet.
Adkins added that the company’s analysis is ongoing and it will take additional steps if necessary.
“We’ve always made security a top priority and we continue to invest in our defenses,” she said.
Google’s announcement comes after several other companies named in the WikiLeaks dump addressed possible exploits.
Apple and Samsung both said they had addressed the potential vulnerabilities, while encrypted messaging service Signal said none of the alleged exploits affected its product. Additionally, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a statement that it has yet to see any evidence in the documents of the CIA exploiting a vulnerability in these encrypted messaging services.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist