Criminal probe to be launched into WikiLeaks' release of CIA documents

Washington DC: A federal criminal investigation will be launched into WikiLeaks' publication of documents detailing alleged US top spy agency, Central Intelligence Agency's, hacking operations, according to several US officials.

According to the CNN, officials said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the CIA are coordinating reviews of the matter.

The investigation is looking into how the documents came into WikiLeaks' possession and whether they might have been leaked by an employee or contractor. The CIA is also trying to determine if there are other unpublished documents WikiLeaks may have.

CIA spokesman Ryan Tripani said the agency had "no comment on the authenticity of purported intelligence documents released by WikiLeaks or on the status of any investigation into the source of the documents."

But officials told CNN that the documents published so far are largely genuine, though they are not yet certain if all of them are and whether some of the documents may have been altered.

One of the biggest concerns for the federal government is if WikiLeaks publishes critical computer code on how operations are conducted, other hackers could take that code and cause havoc overseas.

The officials who spoke to CNN emphasized that any intelligence collection using the types of operations described in the documents is legal intelligence collection against overseas targets. The officials also cautioned some of the material describes programs still under development by the intelligence community.

Tripani stressed that the CIA "is legally prohibited from conducting electronic surveillance targeting individuals here at home, including our fellow Americans, and CIA does not do so."

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that President Donald Trump is "extremely concerned" about the publication, though he declined to confirm the authenticity of the leaked materials.

However, he added that the administration could not to confirm the authenticity of any kind of disclosure or hack as it is the national policy.

The documents have not yet been authenticated by independent experts.

WikiLeaks on Tuesday published a massive number of documents purportedly pertaining to the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) hacking programs. It alleged that the CIA has become the globe's pre-eminent

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.