Wikileaks slammed by CIA

By Catherine Hardy with Reuters

Published on 14/04/2017 - 21:39

Wikileaks is a non-state "hostile intelligence service" often abetted by state actors, according to the agency's director.

Wikileaks walks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service
Mike Pompeo CIA Director

Wikileaks is a non-state “hostile intelligence service” often abetted by state actors, according to the director of the CIA.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo has denounced the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks as a ‘‘hostile intelligence service” https://t.co/63WI8Qdh6Y pic.twitter.com/3wikz4sAYq
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) 14 avril 2017

What did Mike Pompeo say?

“Wikileaks walks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service,” Pompeo told an audience at a Washington think tank.

2016 election leaks

Wikileaks released Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The US intelligence services say these were hacked by Russia to try to tilt the election against the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in favour of Republican Donald Trump, the eventual winner.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said the release was not intended to influence the election.

CIA leaks

In March, Wikileaks published documents describing secret Central Intelligence Agency hacking tools and sections of computer codes.

However, the website did not publish the full programs that would be needed to conduct cyber exploits against phones, computers and internet-connected televisions.