NSA Has Planted Surveillance Software Deep Within Hard Drives

Discussion in 'Serious Chat' started by Agent, Feb 19, 2015.

  1. #1
    Agent

    Agent Formerly known as Agent Sideburns LPA Über VIP

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    (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency has figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the majority of the world's computers, according to cyber researchers and former operatives.

    That long-sought and closely guarded ability was part of a cluster of spying programs discovered by Kaspersky Lab, the Moscow-based security software maker that has exposed a series of Western cyberespionage operations.

    Kaspersky said it found personal computers in 30 countries infected with one or more of the spying programs, with the most infections seen in Iran, followed by Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Mali, Syria, Yemen and Algeria. The targets included government and military institutions, telecommunication companies, banks, energy companies, nuclear researchers, media, and Islamic activists, Kaspersky said. (reut.rs/1L5knm0)

    The firm declined to publicly name the country behind the spying campaign, but said it was closely linked to Stuxnet, the NSA-led cyberweapon that was used to attack Iran's uranium enrichment facility. The NSA is the agency responsible for gathering electronic intelligence on behalf of the United States.

    A former NSA employee told Reuters that Kaspersky's analysis was correct, and that people still in the intelligence agency valued these spying programs as highly as Stuxnet. Another former intelligence operative confirmed that the NSA had developed the prized technique of concealing spyware in hard drives, but said he did not know which spy efforts relied on it.

    NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines declined to comment.

    Kaspersky published the technical details of its research on Monday, which should help infected institutions detect the spying programs, some of which trace back as far as 2001.

    The disclosure could further hurt the NSA's surveillance abilities, already damaged by massive leaks by former contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden's revelations have hurt the United States' relations with some allies and slowed the sales of U.S. technology products abroad.

    The exposure of these new spying tools could lead to greater backlash against Western technology, particularly in countries such as China, which is already drafting regulations that would require most bank technology suppliers to proffer copies of their software code for inspection.

    Peter Swire, one of five members of U.S. President Barack Obama's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology, said the Kaspersky report showed that it is essential for the country to consider the possible impact on trade and diplomatic relations before deciding to use its knowledge of software flaws for intelligence gathering.

    "There can be serious negative effects on other U.S. interests," Swire said.

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    How come NSA is getting away with doing something like this? Seems like no one is bothered. It's downright scary.
     
  2. #2
    travz21

    travz21 Muscle Museum LPA Super Member

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    Seems more like a Kaspersky ad.
     
  3. #3
    Erica

    Erica Meh LPA Über VIP

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    This is really unsettling. I'm not a conspiracy kind of gal, but this is some 1984 shit. I care a lot that this kind of thing doesn't just go unpunished, but what the fuck can you do?
     
  4. #4
    lime treacle

    lime treacle You are not alone Über Member

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    [​IMG]
     
  5. #5
    Erica

    Erica Meh LPA Über VIP

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    A meme for everything! Fuck!
     
  6. #6
    Will

    Will LPA Addicted VIP LPA Addicted VIP

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    We should go back to the days where we had to physically insert a person into a court or administration (or whatever) in order to get the information we wanted. Let's bring back the old-school double-agent thing. I'd be totally down for that.

    Installing literal spyware on a person's computer's police-state-esque.
     
  7. #7
    Evan

    Evan Well-Known Member

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    All I gotta say is thank God these countries all need the US (to some extent, I think?) for something, otherwise I could see them all teaming up and declaring war on the US. Millions of innocent people would have to pay for the mistakes of their government, with their lives nonetheless. And I already hated the NSA. Wow.
     
  8. #8
    Luke

    Luke Mind Your Manners. LPA Addicted VIP

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    People are kidding themselves if they think we don't already live in a police state. If you take away people's privacy you're taking away their liberty and that's exactly what this is. It is something out of an orwellian nightmare however we all still buy the products and generally go about our lives as if nothing's wrong.
     

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