WikiLeaks release of the massive trove of secret CIA documents has sparked the conspiracy theories on the agency attempt to remotely hack vehicles. WikiLeaks has reported that the CIA was looking at infecting vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The intent behind such control has not been specified, however, it’s obvious that such kind of control would enable the agency to engage in undetectable assassination.
Michael Hastings was an acclaimed war correspondent and a vocal critic of government mass surveillance. Unfortunately, he died in the early hours of Tuesday back in June 2013 after his Mercedes C250 Coupe lost control and burst into flames before slamming into a palm tree.
The witnesses of the fatal incident said that the car appeared to be travelling at top speed and was creating sparks and flames before it lost control and went off the road. However, the Los Angeles police said that there was no sign of foul play in the accident.
Shortly before Michael Hastings death, he had sent an email to colleagues and friends warning them that he was onto a big story and that he was under investigation.
Michael wrote an email saying that the Feds had been interviewing him and his close friends and associates, adding that it was wise for him to request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about news gathering practices. He also insisted that he was onto a big story and he needed to go off the radar for a while.
The final publication that Hastings made was titled, ’Why Democrats Love To Spy On Americans’, the article was critical of Obama and the US government’s domestic spying program that had just been revealed by the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Michael Hastings accused Obama and his allies in the FBI and the Department of Justice for waging a war on transparency supporters, investigative reporters and whistleblowers. Hastings’s wife, Elise Jordan, was working on a profile of CIA director John Brennan during the time of Hasting’s death. Surprisingly, Ms. Jordan did not buy into the conspiracy theory.
Six weeks after the incident, Ms. Jordan told CNN that she had no doubt that Hastings was pursuing a hot story, adding that he always had at least five hot stories going.
The former US National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism Richard Clarke told the Huffington Post that the crash was consistent with a cyber-attack. He pointed out that there is reason to believe that intelligence agencies know how to remotely seize control of a car.
Research at universities has revealed that it is relatively easy to hack your way into the control system of a car and do such things as acceleration even when the driver does not intend to do so, engage the brakes and even launch the airbag.
The whistle-blowing site, WikiLeaks suggest that Hasting’s death was the result of foul play.
Shortly after Hours the crash, WikiLeaks tweeted: “Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.”
In response, the FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said that at no time was Michael Hastings under investigation by the FBI, adding that the FBI had been receiving a barrage of calls pertaining to WikiLeaks tweet and that the incident was getting out of control.
The release by WikiLeaks contains explosive allegations on CIA’s cyber-warfare capabilities that include details on how the agency created malware to target iPhones, Android and smart TVs, giving them the power to spy and listen in on users. The data shows that the CIA is now rivaling the NSA, the US government’s main electronic spying body, in cyber warfare, but with less oversight. However, at the end of the day, the combined force from investigative reporters and whistleblowers will always expose the truth and the malicious agenda that the agencies are deploying will always be exposed.
