Threat Management, Breach, Threat Intelligence, Data Security, Network Security

Goddess of cyberwar: Athena CIA tool subject of latest WikiLeaks Vault 7 dump

In its latest batch of leaked Vault 7 CIA documents, WikiLeaks on Friday published materials related to a malware implant called Athena, which enables remote beacon and loader capabilities on targeted computers running on Microsoft Windows versions XP through 10.

The documentation, dated between late 2015 and early 2016, notes that the CIA developed the malware in conjunction with Siege Technologies, a U.S.-based provider of offense-driven defensive cyber security solutions. 

"Once installed, the malware provides a beaconing capability (including configuration and task handling), the memory loading/unloading of malicious payloads for specific tasks and the delivery and retrieval of files to/from a specified directory on the target system," WikiLeaks reported on its web site.

The previous week, WikiLeaks released details on AfterMidnight and Assassin, two CIA malware frameworks designed to work on Windows.

Bradley Barth

As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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