WATCH: Cybercriminals have taken notice of leaked government spying techniques

Written by Mitnick Security | Apr 30, 2017 12:00:00 AM

The U.S. government's spy tools are being revealed.

Wikileaks continues to publish alleged CIA hacking techniques for smart devices, including smart TVs and smartphones. And recently a treasure trove of alleged hacking tools used by the NSA were leaked by hacking group, Shadow Brokers.

Experts say the leaks could open the door for cybercriminals to use the same tactics to target consumers. The government only uses these tools against persons of interest.

"Even though the actual source code for the exploit wasn't included, it does give you data around how information was transferred….That would allow a hacker or somebody malicious to develop their own exploits based off of that information," said Michael Buratwoski, the senior vice president of cybersecurity service at Fidelis Cybersecurity and a former law enforcement officer.

The CIA has not confirmed the documents are real. The NSA did not respond to our request for comment.

"Every device is exploitable…. There's always a risk of using smart technology that a threat actor could leverage to spy on you," said Kevin Mitnick, the author of "The Art of Invisibility." He was formerly on the FBI's most wanted list and served time behind bars for hacking. Now, Mitnick advises companies and consumers on how to protect themselves from cybercriminals.

Watch how to protect yourself here.

Source: CNBC