Cybersecurity

CIA hacking? Hooray! Privacy advocates see an upside

In all this talk of a CIA hacking playbook, is there a silver lining? Privacy advocates seem to think so.

That might surprise you. Nothing makes a person feel vulnerable in quite the same way as hearing that everyday electronics are being turned into spy devices. And that's exactly what we heard Tuesday, when WikiLeaks published thousands of documents that appeared to reveal CIA tools for hacking into computers, phones and even smart TVs. CNET is unable to verify whether the documents are real or have been altered.

Still, the news prompted Edward Snowden to post on Twitter, "It may not feel like it, but computer security is getting better."