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The World Socialist Web Site reports [wsws.org]

One of the 8,761 internal CIA documents leaked by WikiLeaks on [March 7] reveals that the agency's Center for Cyber Intelligence has been exploring methods to hack into vehicle systems since at least 2014. As WikiLeaks noted in its release accompanying the documents, "The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations."

While the anti-secrecy organization makes no specific charges in this regard, this information raises new troubling questions about the car crash that killed journalist Michael Hastings in June of 2013.

Hastings, who was 33 when he died, was the Rolling Stone reporter who wrote an article in 2010 that led to the removal of General Stanley McChrystal from his post as ranking US commanding officer in Afghanistan. Hastings perished at around 4:30 a.m. after losing control of his car and crashing into a tree while traveling at about 100 mph.

At the time of his death, Hastings was investigating another major figure within the Obama administration's military and intelligence apparatus, then-CIA Director John Brennan. At the time, police declared that there was no "foul play" involved in the accident. Before the accident, however, Hastings had informed his colleagues that he was under government surveillance. He also suspected that his own vehicle had been tampered with, having asked a neighbor [alternet.org] to lend him a car.

What the WikiLeaks documents show is that Hastings' suspicions about his vehicle could very well have been justified. Meeting notes dated October 2014 show that the CIA has a division known as the Embedded Development Branch which lists "potential mission areas", such as software and networking devices, as targets for hacking. One of the targets listed is "vehicle systems (e.g., VSEP)", likely referring to the embedded computer systems that play a major role in the operation of modern cars (though the [initialism] is not spelled out).

[...]One piece of software in embedded systems specifically mentioned by the CIA memo is the operating system QNX, which the memo states is a "big player in VSEP". Indeed, according to QNX Software Systems Limited, the software has been deployed in more than 50 million vehicles across at least 14 different brands, more than 50 percent of the market share of modern cars.

In July 2013, The New American reported [thenewamerican.com]

Mercedes [...] has a reputation for building some of the safest cars in the world, but Mercedes has not yet been contacted by authorities, according to a statement. Citing a 2010 study from a California university, [San Diego 6 News national security reporter Kimberly Dvorak] also noted that it is possible to "hack into the car system and operate the accelerator, the brakes, windshield wipers, light, steering", and more, using a simple iPad.

Car experts have also expressed skepticism about the official narrative. "I'm here to state that I've seen dozens of cars hit walls and stuff at high speeds and the number of them that I have observed to eject their powertrains and immediately catch massive fire is, um, ah, zero", noted [thetruthaboutcars.com] Jack Baruth, editor of The Truth About Cars. "Modern cars are very good at not catching fire in accidents. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which is an evolutionary design from a company known for sweating the safety details over and above the Euro NCAP requirements, should be leading the pack in the not-catching-on-fire category."

"Nor is the C-Class known for sudden veering out of control into trees and whatnot", continued Baruth, who has a professional racing license as well. "Mr. Hastings' aggressively Democrat-friendly storytelling has the Internet already considering the idea that his death was engineered somehow. I can't say it's totally unlikely. As noted above, the reported (and videotaped) behavior of the C250 was not in line with what we'd expect."

...and for those who like to connect dots, there's this:

It would not be the first time that a prominent journalist taking on the establishment has died under suspicious circumstances. Conservative-leaning alternative-media giant Andrew Breitbart, for example, promised to reveal information that would destroy the Obama machine. Shortly before the highly anticipated release, the 43-year-old died of "heart failure". Two months later, the county coroner who conducted Breitbart's autopsy was poisoned. Before that, investigative journalist Gary Webb, who exposed CIA cocaine trafficking, supposedly "committed suicide" with two bullets to the head after publicly expressing his concerns that he would be killed. The list could go on.

Note also that the 6 News coverage has mysteriously disappeared from their site, as has the copy formerly found at The Enquirer. Archive [archive.org] Bulletproof archive [archive.li]

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