OPINION: Don’t Blink

IMPORTANT: The CIA uses home and mobile devices to monitor and record citizens of many countries all over the world.

WeepingAngel.jpg

A Weeping Angel, the inspiration for MI5’s hacking program.

Christopher Young, News Editor

“Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don’t turn your back. Don’t look away. And don’t blink. Good Luck.”

~Doctor Who

On Monday, March 6, WikiLeaks published several files detailing the CIA’s methods of spying on foreign countries. The files revealed that the CIA also uses bugs and hacks in home devices to watch and record both American and foreign citizens. This is a huge violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects the right to privacy.

One of the programs made by the CIA and its British counterpart, MI5, is dubbed “Weeping Angel” after the horrifying stone angel monsters from the British television show Doctor Who.

The Weeping Angels are a race of alien that appear as simple stone angels as long as they are observed. The instant you look away, however, they lash out and attack.

These fictional monsters likely influenced the naming of the program, which allows both the CIA and MI5 to hack into Samsung devices across the world and use them as recording and camera devices.

Even when the devices appear to be off, it could very well be recording you and your room.

Turning off voice recognition or camera settings may make it more difficult for the bug to work, so be aware and don’t blink.