WikiLeaks began publishing the source code of alleged CIA hacking tools Thursday in a new series dubbed "Vault 8."

The source code, according to a press release from the anti-secrecy organization, is intended to "enable investigative journalists, forensic experts and the general public to better identify and understand covert CIA infrastructure components."

"Source code published in this series contains software designed to run on servers controlled by the CIA," WikiLeaks writes, stressing that the material does not contain 0-day or undisclosed vulnerabilities that could be utilized by others.

Hive, the first tool featured in Vault 8, aids the agency in controlling malware installed on target devices.

"Even the most sophisticated malware implant on a target computer is useless if there is no way for it to communicate with its operators in a secure manner that does not draw attention," WikiLeaks writes. "Using Hive even if an implant is discovered on a target computer, attributing it to the CIA is difficult by just looking at the communication of the malware with other servers on the internet."

"Hive provides a covert communications platform for a whole range of CIA malware to send exfiltrated information to CIA servers and to receive new instructions from operators at the CIA."