Microsoft says most Wikileaks Vault 7 Windows exploits are "dated"

Microsoft’s Windows operating system is one of the CIA’s main hacking targets, with WikiLeaks’s recent Vault 7 data dump revealing a large number of exploit tools ranged against the OS.

Microsoft has now performed a preliminary investigation of the CIA hacking tools leaked, and according to the Wall Street Journal has said that  “most of the issues are dated and likely have been addressed in its latest software.”

Julian Assange has offered to give Microsoft, Apple and Google deeper access to their data trove to help the companies secure their operating systems, saying ‘‘We have decided to work with them, to give them some exclusive access to some of the technical details we have, so that fixes can be pushed out.”

Once tech firms had patched their products, he said, he would release the full data of the hacking tools to the public.

“We’ve seen Julian Assange’s statement and have not yet been contacted,” a Microsoft spokesman is reported as saying. “Our preferred method for anyone with knowledge of security issues, including the CIA or Wikileaks, is to submit details to us at [email protected] so we can review information and take any necessary steps to protect customers.”