They're ~revealing~ the capability for computers to store text in foreign languages, even if the programmer doesn't speak that language natively? All the source docs say is that if a programmer wrote text in a foreign language, the code isn't going to blow up.
Wikileaks is implying -- heavily enough that every news article I've seen mentions it (some, even, without the "might" or "could") -- that the main reason the CIA would support Unicode is so that they can trick people into thinking they're Chinese.
Mentioning (the quite obvious fact) that it's possible to include foreign text in code as an effort to confuse adversaries, while discussing an actual implementation of text obfuscation, will confuse reasonable people who lack the technical understanding of what this is into thinking the software obfuscates text by somehow changing the language it's in.
Here's a more egregious example:
This doc (https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/cms/page_13763790.html) contains one line "Vehicle Systems (e.g. VSEP)." It doesn't elaborate what "Vehicle Systems" they mean or define "VSEP," but given the other projects worked on by the same team (all using embedded systems to spy on you), the most reasonable interpretation to me is that they'd be trying to intercept GPS and other sensor data, including voice and video from cameras and microphones.
Wikileaks wrote "As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations." In this case, they added the word "control" from nothing, making the completely unsupported claim that the CIA is investigating the possibility of assassinating people by hacking their cars (which, hey, might be true... but there's nothing supporting that idea here).
Sure enough, dozens of article were written about how the CIA is killing people by driving their cars off cliffs.
Wikileaks is implying -- heavily enough that every news article I've seen mentions it (some, even, without the "might" or "could") -- that the main reason the CIA would support Unicode is so that they can trick people into thinking they're Chinese.
Mentioning (the quite obvious fact) that it's possible to include foreign text in code as an effort to confuse adversaries, while discussing an actual implementation of text obfuscation, will confuse reasonable people who lack the technical understanding of what this is into thinking the software obfuscates text by somehow changing the language it's in.
Here's a more egregious example:
This doc (https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/cms/page_13763790.html) contains one line "Vehicle Systems (e.g. VSEP)." It doesn't elaborate what "Vehicle Systems" they mean or define "VSEP," but given the other projects worked on by the same team (all using embedded systems to spy on you), the most reasonable interpretation to me is that they'd be trying to intercept GPS and other sensor data, including voice and video from cameras and microphones.
Wikileaks wrote "As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations." In this case, they added the word "control" from nothing, making the completely unsupported claim that the CIA is investigating the possibility of assassinating people by hacking their cars (which, hey, might be true... but there's nothing supporting that idea here).
Sure enough, dozens of article were written about how the CIA is killing people by driving their cars off cliffs.