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New Snowden Leaks Show NSA Attacked Anti-Virus Software
New submitter Patricbranson writes: The NSA, along with its British counterpart Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), spent years reverse-engineering popular computer security software in order to spy on email and other electronic communications, according to the classified documents published by the online news site The Intercept. With various countries' spy agencies trying to make sure computers aren't secure (from their own intrusions, at least), it's no wonder that Kaspersky doesn't want to talk about who hacked them.
The NSA and GCHQ were doing their jobs!
Unless you're using a Mac. According to the Apple genius, you don't need AV software. I was told that earlier this year on the exact day where Mac OS has been hit badly by malware.
Yet another excerpt from the Snowden documents that has nothing to do whatsoever with domestic surveillance.
In fact, I can't remember the last time it did.
1) Get full copy of file to scan in memory
2) Check file for viruses
3) Send complete copy to national HQ, er, I mean, check the AV database
4) Open file
Basically the NSA and its Stasi partners are directly compromising / attacking U.S. citizens (and other world citizens) computer security software. This is significant as it shows just how much at direct odds with the general interests of the U.S. citizenry (to have secure computers and internet infrastructure) the U.S. surveillance state has secretly chosen - a direct contradiction to the population's general interests.
If you dive into the article you'll see that all AntiVirus vendors are listed as "targets" except for the few that are U.S. and British based - presumably because they've already co-opted them into the Five Eyes Stasi population surveillance business group. This also shows the direct betrayal the NSA and Co. made years ago for the U.S. population (after the U.S. citizenry democratically said No to the Clipper Chip and U.S. government surveillance of their communications / computing related equipment). The NSA etc. betrayed that democratic choice in secret and deliberately kept hidden and has / is working for absolutely wide open computer / backbone equipment access for them & their Five Eyes partners with back doors in everything (even in your anti-virus software as this article shows) so they can spy on whomever, whenever, wherever they want (and we know that include lots of domestic surveillance). That also means the NSA chose this everything is vulnerable environment for the "bad guys" too - as back doors are open for everyone - another direct betrayal of the main computer related interest of the U.S. citizenry. JMHO...
They were reverse engineering software. I didn't see anything in here about cracking AV vendor networks or anything like that. I'm sure there are plenty of other people trying to reverse engineer software. Wouldn't it be reasonable to say this is within the security agency's baliwick? I didn't see anything about misusing whatever they found. Very interesting though that domestic producers were not listed. Maybe because they didn't need a warrant to do the reverse engineering, or as suggested by others they might already be compromised.
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
They should have used APK guy's hosts files.
NSA Attacked Anti-Virus Software
And ya'll laughed at John McAfee and called him crazy!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Life is not a comic book! or a movie or even a book. Even with additional dimensions (to which a book can offer more,) real life contains more aspects than even a "complex" fictional villain.
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Only if they make the vulnerabilities known to the AV makers and (after a suitable period) to the general public so as to ensure that the US/UK populations are protected.
If they can crack it, so can other groups.
Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
This should not be rated insightful, it should be rated "Person posting must wear protection walking in hallways!"
Anyone using any of these AV products domestically were being targeted as well as the companies the NSA was hacking for the explicit purpose of circumventing protection. Eset, Kaspersky, F-Secure, Checkpoint, et.al. are protecting at least as many US people as the US made counterparts (interestingly only 2 companies were allegedly not targeted. If you don't at least consider the possibility of collusion and/or infiltration, like we know happens with MS and various Linux projects, then you are a complete idiot who should lose their right to post on the internet.
DMCA the fuck out of them.
'It became necessary to destroy the town to save it'
I revealed this fact in the previous linked to article, but got little love for it.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
which doesn't change the facts that when he looks towards Washington and spits, he's right.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
What Voltaire taught long ago:
Il est dangereux d'avoir raison dans des choses où des hommes accrédités ont tort.
("It is dangerous to be right when established men are wrong.")
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Yet another excerpt from the Snowden documents that has nothing to do whatsoever with domestic surveillance.
In fact, I can't remember the last time it did.
He really screwed up the release of these documents. He needed to compile all the worst offenses and release them back to back to back. A year ago or so when he released the most damning one, Congress started fussing, but then he went quiet for another several months. Releasing it slowly allowed the public opinion to warm up to the idea of it, instead of adding fuel to fire we were trying to hold the NSA's feet to.
Now, the opportunity is lost, and will never be had again, except for maybe in the new country that starts on Mars from the pilgrims that follow John Galt^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Elon Musk there to start the Atlas society.
I run AVG Free, and I'm wondering, should I be? Is there an AV that I can trust? One that won't be compromised by some governement?
Be seeing you...
That is a rather huge leap. They may well have read the article but are just too stupid to comprehend it. ;-)
"So long and thanks for all the fish."