WikiLeaks has published details about Athena/Hera, a spyware framework which "provides remote beacon and loader capabilities on target computers" allegedly being used by the CIA.

According to Wikileaks, the spyware works against every version of Microsoft's Windows operating systems, from Windows XP to Windows 10. It has been designed to take full control over the infected Windows PCs remotely, allowing the agency to perform all sorts of things on the target machine, including deleting data or uploading malicious software, and stealing data and send them to CIA server.

"Once installed, the malware provides a beaconing capability (including configuration and task handling), the memory loading/unloading of malicious payloads for specific tasks and the delivery and retrieval of files to/from a specified directory on the target system. It allows the operator to configure settings during runtime (while the implant is on target) to customize it to an operation," Wikileaks says.

According to the documentation, the malware was developed by the CIA in cooperation with Siege Technologies, a self-proclaimed cyber security company based in New Hampshire, US.

WikiLeaks has not provided any detail about the operations being conducted by the agency using Athena.

In an email from HackingTeam, Jason Syversen, founder of Siege Technologies with a background in cryptography and hacking, "... said he set out to create the equivalent of the military's so-called probability of kill metric, a statistical analysis of whether an attack is likely to succeed. 'I feel more comfortable working on electronic warfare,' he said. 'It's a little different than bombs and nuclear weapons -- that's a morally complex field to be in. Now instead of bombing things and having collateral damage, you can really reduce civilian casualties, which is a win for everybody.'"