Allowing for the book, after all, being a parody, something like 1984 could actually happen. This is the direction the world is going in at the present time. In our world, there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. The sex instinct will be eradicated. We shall abolish the orgasm. There will be no loyalty except loyalty to the Party. But always there will be the intoxication of power. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who’s helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever. The moral to be drawn from this dangerous nightmare situation is a simple one: don’t let it happen. It depends on you.

Was George Orwell more than simply an author? Could he envisage what was coming down the road for humanity? In this presentation parallels are drawn to arguably the finest piece of fiction ever written, 1984, showing that Orwell had a deep understanding of human corruption.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/07/technology/wikileaks-cia-hacking/



The CIA has become the preeminent hacking operation, sneaking into high-tech phones and televisions to spy on people worldwide, according to an explosive WikiLeaks publication of purported internal CIA documents on Tuesday.

To hide its operations, the CIA routinely adopted hacking techniques that enabled them to appear as if they were hackers in Russia, WikiLeaks said.

WikiLeaks also claimed that nearly all of the CIA's arsenal of privacy-crushing cyberweapons have been stolen, and the tools are potentially in the hands of criminals and foreign spies.

WikiLeaks claimed the stolen tools ended up in the hands of "former U.S. government hackers and contractors... one of whom" leaked documents to WikiLeaks.

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu of California called for an immediate congressional investigation.

"I am deeply disturbed by the allegation that the CIA lost its arsenal of hacking tools. The ramifications could be devastating," he said in a statement. ""We need to know if the CIA lost control of its hacking tools, who may have those tools, and how do we now protect the privacy of Americans."

"The potential privacy concerns are mind-boggling," he said.

WikiLeaks said it published the documents to show the potentially hazardous ramifications of the CIA's covert hacking program -- and the massive theft of those tools.

"There is an extreme proliferation risk in the development of cyber 'weapons,'" said WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange in a statement.

Related: Your data is not safe. Here's how to lock it down

WikiLeaks, an outfit that believes in transparency, backed up the claims by publishing a massive trove of what it says are secret CIA documents. It calls the collection "Year Zero," and it consists of 8,761 documents and files.

The CIA, citing standing policy, declined to say whether the published documents are genuine.

"We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," said CIA spokeswoman Heather Fritz Horniak.

Shocking claims

WikiLeaks portrays the CIA as a powerful hacking organization that has managed to infiltrate common personal devices -- with the power to spy on nearly everybody's personal lives.

CIA frames other hackers: The CIA rules say that its hackers must use cyberweapons in a way that can't get traced back to the "CIA, U.S. government, or its witting partner companies," according to WikiLeaks.

After a person, company or government gets hacked, cybersecurity experts worldwide are typically hired to conduct reviews. These reviews of tools and techniques usually allow someone to identify the attacker.


WikiLeaks said there's an entire department within the CIA whose job it is to "misdirect attribution by leaving behind the 'fingerprints'" of others, such as hackers in Russia.

Cybersecurity experts have repeatedly warned against the tendency to quickly blame a nation for a particular hack. This revelation could lend further credence to those, like President Trump, who doubt whether Russia did indeed hack the Democrats in an attempt to sway the recent American election.

Phones, TVs spy on you: A team within the CIA developed spy software that infects Samsung smart TVs -- placing televisions on a "fake-off" mode that still listens to conversations and sends them back to American spies, WikiLeaks claimed. The program, called "Weeping Angel," was created with the help of the British spying agency MI5, it said.

WikiLeaks reports that another team within the CIA built hacking tools that can remotely control iPhones, iPads and Android devices -- secretly taking video from the camera, listening with the microphone, and tracking your location.

In the past, consumers have been warned that Samsung TVs were eavesdropping on private conversations -- with the microphones implanted into the TV.

Related: Why pointing your phone at critical documents is a bad idea

CNN has also reported how the NSA can "turn on" your phone remotely. But it was not previously known that the CIA has a similar capability.

Apple (AAPL, Tech30) sought to ease customers' worries, noting that its latest software update eliminated "many" of the potential iPhone hacking methods pointed out by WikiLeaks. The company said "it will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities."