On Tuesday, Wikileaks released thousands of confidential CIA documents which detailed tactics that the agency uses to spy on individuals through smartphones, televisions, and other internet capable devices. Following the release, Senator John McCain, the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke to reporters about the importance of boosting the nation’s cybersecurity to combat against possible hackers. Acknowledging that if someone was able to hack the CIA they would be able to hack anyone he said, “we’ve got to do a lot more.”
“We’ve got to do a lot more,” Sen. McCain told reporters. “If they can hack into the CIA, they can hack into anyone.”
“My biggest worry is they showed a capability that they can hack into some of our most important secrets, our most important classified material, that’s what bothers me,” he continued.
The Washington Examiner reported that when asked if he thought Russia had anything to do with the latest CIA hack, McCain sarcastically replied: “No, never, never… somebody in the basement of his house smoking cigarettes in his underwear was responsible.”
When pressed again McCain said: “I can’t say that [the Russians are responsible], but it’s clear that WikiLeaks has had a Russian connection.”
Congressman Devin Nunes, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that he is extremely concerned about the latest Wikileaks documents.
“We’ve had initial inquiries into the [intelligence community]. Look, this is early on in the investigation, but these appear to be very, very serious. But at this time, that’s really all the information that I have on it,” Rep. Nunes said. “I’ve long said this — that emails and many of our electronic devices are not safe, and they’re primarily not safe from our adversaries like the Russians and the Chinese and others who are actively trying to get into government institutions and private businesses.”
[revad2]
