Within the last month, Wikileaks announced its launch of Vault 7: leaks of the US Central Intelligence Agency. The files released reveal data and information on the CIA’s ability to hack, notably its ability to turn smart TVs into eavesdropping devices. According to “Vault 7: CIA Hacking Tools Revealed,” the first part of Vault 7 released 8,761 documents and files from the CIA. I think people would be naive to think that the government doesn’t have the ability to get data from apps, public traffic devices, phone calls, etc. However, the extent of the eavesdropping is a bit daunting. Revealed by Wikileaks, the CIA hacked Samsung smart TVs and other personal devices by “transforming them into covert microphones” (WikiLeaks). I think that the government can ethically extract information data from devices if there is an threat to the public safety, but it is wrong for the CIA to hack into people’s personal devices when there is no reason to suspect danger. Under the Obama administration, companies are required to inform tech companies of any vulnerabilities found in their software and devices. The CIA ignored this commitment. I think that certain secrets should be disclosed to the public by organizations like Wikileaks. For example, the information disclosed about the DNC support for Hilary Clinton over Bernie Sanders is of public interest, especially in a national election that is extremely close. It is hard to say, though, if the public should know about how the US Army runs its camps at Guantanamo Bay. I don’t think that “ignorance is bliss” because some secrets and corruption should be revealed depending on how much it affects the public. While the US government is no where near perfect, Wikileaks causes uproar in the public that might not always be necessary. It seems like, especially in American politics, people are diverging from the actual issues of the country and worrying too much about what eavesdropping a certain political party of country may or may not have done. Wikileaks often allows for unnecessary drama to get in the way of the solving real problems. During the election, all people seemed to talk about was Clinton’s email scandal or the DNC disclosure. Now, all we hear about is whether Russia is spying on the US and Trump’s allegations that Obama hacked into his communication during the election. Wikileaks is run by Assange, an Australian. Why is he so interested in American politics? Because of this, I would rather trust the American government because even though it does make mistakes, I believe it has the public’s best interest at heart (although sometimes that’s hard to believe). Whistleblowing is ethical when it protects the safety of others. If even one person is in danger, whistleblowing is the right thing to do. There are times, however, when honesty is not the best policy because it ultimately hurts more people than it saves.
The podcast associated with this reflection is posted on Mary Kate Nawalaniec's blog.