Symantec says CIA tools found across 16 countries

LONDON – Computer security company Symantec says the CIA’s cyberespionage toolkit made public by WikiLeaks has been linked to 40 spying operations in 16 countries, an early public assessment of the intelligence agency’s global hacking operations.

In a blog post published Monday , the California-based Symantec Corp. said the tools in WikiLeaks’ recent releases have been linked to the electronic infiltration of international, financial, energy and aerospace organizations across the world.

The word “CIA” was mentioned nowhere in Symantec’s post, but WikiLeaks says the tools were taken from the heart of the CIA and the U.S. government has all but publicly accepted the embarrassing claim.

In television interview that followed WikiLeaks’ release, President Donald Trump said : “I just want people to know the CIA was hacked, and a lot of things taken.”