Archimedes: Wikileaks has added new documents to Vault 7, detailing a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack tool allegedly created by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to compromise local networks.
Since March, WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents and secret tools allegedly belonging to the CIA. This latest release is the 7th installment in the Vault 7 series.
Today we're going to look at an unreleased CIA tool, called Archimedes, which was released on Friday. The hacking tool is supposedly used to attack computers within a local area network (LAN).
According to the leaked documents, this MitM tool was previously called “Fulcrum” but was later renamed “Archimedes.”
Archimedes contains several improvements over the previous version, such as providing a way to “disable the tool on demand” and adding “support for a new HTTP injection method based on the use of a hidden iFrame.”
The documents describe Archimedes as a tool that allows users to redirect LAN traffic from a targeted computer to a malware-infected computer controlled by the CIA, before normal traffic is passed to the gateway.
It is an attack known as man-in-the-middle (MitM).
The tool itself is very simple without any extraordinary features, as there are many MitM tools available on the Internet, which one can download and use to target users on local networks.
Infosec founder Jake Williams also stated that the tool was not originally developed by the CIA, and rather appears to be a repackaged version of Ettercap – an open-source tool for MitM attacks.
Last week, WikiLeaks leaked the source code for a more interesting CIA tool, known as “Scribbles,” a piece of software allegedly designed to embed “web beacons” into confidential documents, allowing the secret service to identify insiders and whistleblowers.
Since March, WikiLeaks has made 7 publications in the “Vault 7” series, which include major leaks:
“Year Zero” CIA exploits popular hardware and software.
“Weeping Angel” the spying tool the agency uses to infiltrate smart TVs, turning them into covert microphones.
“Dark Matter” exploits targeting iPhones and Macs.
“Marble” the source code of a secret anti-forensic framework. Essentially an obfuscator the CIA uses to hide the true source of malware.
“Grasshopper” a framework that allows the intelligence agency to easily create custom malware to compromise Microsoft Windows and bypass any virus protection.
