USA's National Security Agency has
been reported to be dramatically
expanding it ability to hack into
computer on a mass scale according
to latest top-secret documents
leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward
Snowden.
Although the intelligence agency has
denied the allegations, the
documents reveal that NSA is using
automated systems that reduce the
level of human oversight in the
process. They also contain details
about a new surveillance technology
that the agency has developed
which can potentially infect millions
of computers worldwide with
malware "implants." The malware
will also enable the NSA to break
into targeted computers and extract
data from foreign internet and
phone networks as well.
The implants can hack into machines
through an array of deceptions such
as fake Facebook web pages, spam
emails with malicious links.
GCHQ, the British intelligence
agency is said to have played an
important role in helping NSA
develop the implants tactic. Some
reported cases show NSA pretends
to act as a fake Facebook server and
uses the social media site to infect a
target's computer and extract files
from a hard drive. Other cases show
how NSA has sent out spam emails
filled with malware which can be
used to covertly record audio from a
computer's microphone and even
take snapshots with its webcam
without the user even knowing about
it. The implants will also enable NSA
to launch cyberattacks by corrupting
and disrupting file downloads or
denying access to websites.
The leaked documents by Snowden
also reveal that the implants were
actually reserved for a few hundred
hard-to-reach targets, which couldn't
be hacked into through traditional
wiretaps. But now, NSA has
aggressively accelerated its hacking
initiatives over the last ten years to
carry out the attacks on a large
scale.
The documents show that an
automated system -- codenamed
TURBINE -- is designed to "allow the
current implant network to scale to
large size (millions of implants) by
creating a system that does
automated control implants by
groups instead of individually.”
These latest hacking efforts are
operational from NSA's headquarters
in Fort Meade, Maryland and also
from its bases in United Kingdom
and Japan.
The NSA has criticized media reports
reporting the large-scale hacking
and said that it doesn't
"impersonate U.S. company Web
sites":
Recent media reports that allege
NSA has infected millions of
computers around the world with
malware, and that NSA is
impersonating U.S. social media or
other websites, are inaccurate. NSA
uses its technical capabilities only to
support lawful and appropriate
foreign intelligence operations, all of
which must be carried out in strict
accordance with its authorities.
Technical capability must be
understood within the legal, policy,
and operational context within which
that capability must be employed.
NSA's authorities require that its
foreign intelligence operations
support valid national security
requirements, protect the legitimate
privacy interests of all persons, and
be as tailored as feasible. NSA does
not use its technical capabilities to
impersonate U.S. company Web
sites. Nor does NSA target any user
of global Internet services without
appropriate legal authority. Reports
of indiscriminate computer
exploitation operations are simply
false.
Source: The Inquirer, Via: Cnet
For more Chandrashekhar Poddar
Comments
Post a Comment