WikiLeaks CIA dump reportedly includes unredacted names which could reveal agents' identities

WikiLeaks' Vault 7 leaks that allegedly detail CIA hacking tools and techniques reportedly contain unredacted names, which could possibly reveal the spy agency's officials' identities. The whistleblowing site said that it had redacted information including names, email addresses and external IP addresses, adding that the dump contained a total of 70,875 redactions in total.

"Wikileaks has also decided to redact and anonymise some identifying information in "Year Zero" for in depth analysis. These redactions include ten of thousands of CIA targets and attack machines throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States," the transparency platform claimed.

However, according to a report by Motherboard, pages from the dump, relating to the CIA's Engineering Development Group (EDG) contained several full names. One such unredacted name, in a page related to EDF, allegedly reveals the identity of the person that last modified the file in question.

It still remains unclear if the unredacted names identify CIA officials under their real identities or whether they correspond to their cover names or refer to other individuals. Motherboard's report highlights a potential lapse by WikiLeaks and highlights the challenges in appropriately redacting vast caches of files.

In the past, WikiLeaks has been slammed for reportedly publishing sensitive health and identity information of rape victims and innocent citizens. The whistleblowing platform has also been accused of attempting to cover up evidence of its role in distributing over 300 malware variants part of one of its data dumps.

Meanwhile, the CIA and the FBI have reportedly officially launched investigations into WikiLeaks' Vault 7 dump, BBC reported. The CIA is yet to confirm whether the leaked data is legitimate.