Updated March 10, 2017 08:58:03

WikiLeaks will provide technology companies with exclusive access to CIA hacking tools it possesses, allowing them to patch software flaws, founder Julian Assange says.

"Considering what we think is the best way to proceed and hearing these calls from some of the manufacturers, we have decided to work with them to give them some exclusive access to the additional technical details that we have so that the fixes can be developed and pushed out, so people can be secure," Mr Assange said during a press conference broadcast via Facebook Live.

The anti-secrecy group published documents on Tuesday describing secret Central Intelligence Agency hacking tools and snippets of computer code, but did not publish the full details needed to exploit phones, computers and internet-connected televisions.

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The offer could put Silicon Valley in the unusual position of deciding whether to cooperate with Mr Assange, a man believed by some US authorities to be an untrustworthy pawn of Russian President Vladimir Putin or a secretive US spy agency.

It was not clear how WikiLeaks intended to give the information to technology companies, or if they would accept his offer.

Google, Apple, Microsoft and Cisco Systems, who all have products mentioned in the documents, did not immediately comment.

In a statement responding to Mr Assange's comments, CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said the WikiLeaks founder was "not exactly a bastion of truth and integrity".

"Despite the efforts of Assange and his ilk, CIA continues to aggressively collect foreign intelligence overseas to protect America from terrorists, hostile nation states and other adversaries."

Several affected companies said they were confident recent security updates have already accounted for purported flaws described in the CIA documents.

Trump believes CIA systems 'outdated'

WikiLeaks' publication of the documents reignited a debate about whether US intelligence agencies should hold on to serious cyber security vulnerabilities rather than share them with the public.

An interagency process created under former president Barack Obama called for erring on the side of disclosure.

President Donald Trump believed changes were needed to safeguard secrets at the CIA and has "grave concern" about the release of classified materials, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

"He believes that the systems at the CIA are outdated and need to be updated, " Mr Spicer told a news briefing on Thursday.

Mr Spicer would not comment on the documents released and also denounced Mr Assange for his previous release of classified materials, saying he had undermined US national security in the past.

Mr Assange said he possessed "a lot more information" about the CIA's cyber arsenal that would be released soon.

He criticised the CIA for "devastating incompetence" for not being able to control access to such sensitive material.

AP/Reuters

Topics: information-and-communication, information-technology, security-intelligence, united-states

First posted March 10, 2017 08:40:28