NSA Infects Thousands of Computers with Malware

waltky · Nov 25, 2013

Granny says make `em scan an' clean the computers dey infected...

NSA infected 50,000 computer networks with malicious software
23 November 2013, The American intelligence service - NSA - infected more than 50,000 computer networks worldwide with malicious software designed to steal sensitive information. Documents provided by former NSA-employee Edward Snowden and seen by this newspaper, prove this.

A management presentation dating from 2012 explains how the NSA collects information worldwide. In addition, the presentation shows that the intelligence service uses Computer Network Exploitation (CNE) in more than 50,000 locations. CNE is the secret infiltration of computer systems achieved by installing malware, malicious software. One example of this type of hacking was discovered in September 2013 at the Belgium telecom provider Belgacom. For a number of years the British intelligence service - GCHQ has been installing this malicious software in the Belgacom network in order to tap their customers telephone and data traffic. The Belgacom network was infiltrated by GCHQ through a process of luring employees to a false Linkedin page.

NSA SPECIAL DEPARTMENT EMPLOYS MORE THAN A THOUSAND HACKERS

The NSA computer attacks are performed by a special department called TAO (Tailored Access Operations). Public sources show that this department employs more than a thousand hackers. As recently as August 2013, the Washington Post published articles about these NSA-TAO cyber operations. In these articles The Washington Post reported that the NSA installed an estimated 20,000 implants as early as 2008. These articles were based on a secret budget report of the American intelligence services. By mid-2012 this number had more than doubled to 50,000, as is shown in the presentation NRC Handelsblad laid eyes on.

Cyber operations are increasingly important for the NSA. Computer hacks are relatively inexpensive and provide the NSA with opportunities to obtain information that they otherwise would not have access to. The NSA-presentation shows their CNE-operations in countries such as Venezuela and Brazil. The malware installed in these countries can remain active for years without being detected.

SLEEPER CELLS CAN BE ACTIVATED WITH A SINGLE PUSH OF A BUTTON

The malware can be controlled remotely and be turned on and off at will. The implants act as digital sleeper cells that can be activated with a single push of a button. According to the Washington Post, the NSA has been carrying out this type of cyber operation since 1998. The Dutch intelligence services - AIVD and MIVD have displayed interest in hacking. The Joint Sigint Cyber Unit JSCU was created early in 2013. The JSCU is an inter-agency unit drawing on experts with a range of IT skills. This new unit is prohibited by law from performing the type of operations carried out by the NSA as Dutch law does not allow this type of internet searches. The NSA declined to comment and referred to the US Government. A government spokesperson states that any disclosure of classified material is harmful to our national security.

Source
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SMDBill · Nov 25, 2013

Hardly shocking in light of all the details that have been exposed previously, but I wonder at what point the world may begin to turn on us if the exposures continue long term. At some point there's a breaking point between being an ally and being an enemy, with actions like these muddying the waters of which is which.

Every country spies on others and has for a very long time, but when the exact details are exposed it must make it incredibly difficult to defend and then claim to be more righteous than others. It's got to be a very difficult political thing to deal with but we can only watch it play out in the media and hope the backfire it causes isn't disastrous.

waltky · Mar 8, 2017

Is CIA propagating malware?

CIA faces huge problem over malware claims
Tue, 07 Mar 2017 - The latest leaks about alleged CIA hacking tools pose a huge problem for the US spy agency.

Already embroiled in a row with President Donald Trump amid his claims that spies are leaking secrets against him, now the CIA is facing its own damaging leaks. This time it's the American intelligence community's familiar foe - Wikileaks - with another cache of what look like highly sensitive secret documents, this time about the CIA's technical capabilities. The National Security Agency faced its problems when Edward Snowden passed on documents to journalists - but this time it's the NSA's sister agency.

While the NSA is the agency charged with collecting what is called signals intelligence and the CIA's job is to recruit human spies, the reality is that the technical and the human side of espionage have been drawing closer for years. The CIA created a Directorate of Digital Innovation whose director told me the priority was making sure the agency stayed on top of technology. While the NSA may sift global internet traffic looking for intelligence, the CIA prioritises close access against specific targets who it is interested in. And getting into someone's electronic devices can be vital if you are trying to target them - either to recruit them as an agent or for a drone strike against a suspected terrorist.

Tracking the source

These latest leaks will be a huge problem for the CIA as the Snowden leaks were for the NSA (although there will be less surprise about these capabilities now since we learned so much from the Snowden files). There is the embarrassment factor - that an agency whose job is to steal other people's secrets has not been able to keep their own. This will be added to by the revelations that the US consulate in Frankfurt was used as a base for the technical operations which may cause problems in Germany where the Edward Snowden revelations caused intense domestic debate. Then there will be the fear of a loss of intelligence coverage by the CIA against their targets who may change their behaviour because they now know the spies can do. And then there will be the questions over whether the CIA's technical capabilities were too expansive and too secret.

The CIA is alleged to have found a way to listen to conversations that took place close to Samsung TVs

Because many of the initial documents point to capabilities targeting consumer devices, the hardest questions may revolve around what is known as the "equities" problem - when you find a vulnerability in a piece of technology, how do you balance the benefit of leaving that vulnerability in place so the intelligence agency can exploit it to collect intelligence with the benefit to the public of informing the manufacturer so they can close it and improve everyone's security? If an intelligence agency has found a vulnerability then other hackers might do as well. The NSA faced questions about whether it had found the right balance and now it may be the CIA's turn.

There will be anger in the CIA and some of that will be directed at Wikileaks. Wikileaks has said the source of this latest cache of documents came from a former US government hacker or contractor. But it is an organisation that the US intelligence community has claimed may have been a route for information hacked from the Democrats by the Russians during last year's election to make it into the public domain. No doubt the CIA will be trying to establish the exact source of the latest leak and understand the timing - coming right in the middle of an intensifying row between American spies and their own president.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39197664
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NSA Infects Thousands of Computers with Malware

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NSA Infects Thousands of Computers with Malware

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