The Vault 7 Reckoning

Search Term Description Vault 7 The collective name for the massive leak of internal Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents and source code, revealed by WikiLeaks in March 2017. It serves as a "blueprint for a shadow war" and a technical manual for turning everyday devices into mass-surveillance tools. Operation Weeping Angel The CIA exploit developed with the British Security Service (MI5/BTSS) to target Samsung Smart TVs. The exploit put the TV into a "Fake-Off" mode where the screen was dark, but the microphone remained active, turning your living room centerpiece into an "ultimate wiretap". Marble Framework The CIA's anti-forensics tool and "digital mask" designed to hamper attribution. It works by using an obfuscator to insert foreign language text (like Russian, Chinese, or Arabic) into the malware's code to mislead forensic investigators and frame other nation-states for a cyberattack (a digital "False Flag"). Year Zero Exploit Hoard The initial batch of the Vault 7 dump that revealed a massive collection of "zero-day exploits"—vulnerabilities in software unknown to the vendor—that the CIA secretly stockpiled instead of reporting them for a fix. Hive The CIA's sophisticated, multi-platform Command and Control (C2) system. It allowed CIA operators to communicate with and control their vast network of malware implants on compromised devices across the globe. Dark Matter and Grasshopper These are broader project names also mentioned in the table of contents. Dark Matter involves exploits targeting the Apple Ecosystem, and Grasshopper refers to an "Invasion" framework targeting Windows systems.