WikiLeaks recently dumped a lot of documents about the hacking tools the CIA has been using since 2013. Most people are worried about the Samsung Smart TV hack, which allows the spy agency to turn your television into a recording device, and bypassed messaging platforms on your mobile phone. But there's another side to the CIA files worth looking into. Since the documents were arranged in a different format, CIA employees used their very own pages, on which they had strange and interesting stuff. Here are some of the funny and quirky things that have been found in the massive CIA dump, a.k.a. Vault 7.
Faces of the Web
Who knew the CIA had so much fun? What looks like a full list of emojis was found on one employee's page. It includes one line, multi-line, sideways, Japanese style and weird right-to-left faces; some with helpful descriptions. The list is really long but here are some of our favourites. We think these (づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ "gotchya covered" ...
∩( ・ω・)∩ happy dog
╯‵Д′)╯彡┻━┻ angry guy flipping a table
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ table flip
◖|◔◡◉|◗ Huuuuur
﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿ O'RLY?
(屮゚Д゚)屮 "Come on" or "Come here"
(゚Д゚) "heh?" or "what are you saying?" or "surprised"
(゚Д゚)y─┛ smoking
( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
( ಠ◡ಠ )
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(`・ω・´) Pedobear?
y=ー( ゚д゚)・∵. shot my head
ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ baby seal
Intriguing project names
In addition to fabulous new emojis, the documents also revealed CIA project names and we think they're intriguing. At least they certainly make us wonder...
Weeping Angel
Brutal Kangaroo
Harpy Eagle
HammerDrill
Fine Dining
QuarkMatter
YarnBall
SnowyOwl
Pterodactyl
Maddening Whispers
Bee sting
Bald Eagle
Hive
Fight Club
Rain Maker
Shoulder Surger
Taxman
Candy Mountain
Magic Vikings
Anthill
Frog Prince
Herc Beetle
Seven Seas Transport
Medusa 2.0
Limited user licences for Sublime Editor
The spy agency, for some reason, didn't get enough licenses for Sublime Editor, a popular text editor used by developers, so employees were forced enter their own names to the list. Incidentally, the company that ordered the licences is only 30 minutes away from CIA headquarters in Langley.
Hack a parking metre
This was a task found on an employee's page. But why? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should...
Change all passwords to "incorrect"
No explanation necessary. Isn't this actually ingenious?
Reactions to Samsung Smart TV hack
Comodo Antivirus vs CIA
For this, you don't need to understand the tech terms. This employee was having a good time with Comodo Antivirus.
Do you even lift?
Chinese Reaction
China, apparently shocked by the details coming from the leak, expressed their concern. In fact, they want the CIA to stop it, right now.