2017-02-10.7z Apr 2026

: Starting in early February 2017, WikiLeaks began posting cryptic tweets and clues about a forthcoming series titled "Vault 7." As part of their standard procedure, they released the encrypted 7z archive 2017-02-10.7z to the public as a "dead man's switch" or insurance policy.

: The leak prompted a massive FBI manhunt, eventually leading to the conviction of former CIA software engineer Joshua Schulte , who was identified as the source of the data. Vault 7: The CIA’s cyber capabilities escape from the lab

The appearance of 2017-02-10.7z marked the beginning of one of the most significant security breaches in U.S. intelligence history. 2017-02-10.7z

: The date in the filename (February 10, 2017) indicates when the archive was finalized for distribution, just weeks before it would paralyze the CIA’s cyber capabilities and force companies like Cisco and Apple to scramble for patches.

The filename refers to a critical piece of the "Vault 7" leak, an massive archive of CIA hacking tools published by WikiLeaks in March 2017. : Starting in early February 2017, WikiLeaks began

: Tools like "Brutal Kangaroo" designed to infect closed networks via USB thumb drives. Key Details of the Archive

: The decrypted contents of that file exposed a massive global covert hacking program, including: intelligence history

: A program developed with the UK’s MI5 that could turn Samsung smart TVs into covert microphones while they appeared to be off.