WikiLeaks Reveals Grasshopper, the CIA's Windows Hacking Tool (thenextweb.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Next Web: In case you haven't had your dose of paranoia fuel today, WikiLeaks released new information concerning a CIA malware program called "Grasshopper," that specifically targets Windows. The Grasshopper framework was (is?) allegedly used by the CIA to make custom malware payloads. According to the user guide: "Grasshopper is a software tool used to build custom installers for target computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems." Grasshopper is designed to detect the OS and protection on any Windows computer on which it's deployed, and it can escape detection by anti-malware software. If that was enough for you to put your computer in stasis, brace yourself for a doozy: Grasshopper reinstalls itself every 22 hours, even if you have Windows Update disabled. As if this wasn't alarming enough, the Grasshopper user guide even states upfront that Grasshopper uses bits from a toolkit taken from Russian organized crime.

Comments

Re: "einstalls itself every 22 hours"

[Anonymous Coward]

Why should they care, you are still paying? You aren't going anywhere. Windows users will put up with ANYTHING.

Re:At least it's free

[BlueStrat]

As if this wasn't alarming enough, the Grasshopper user guide even states upfront that Grasshopper uses bits from a toolkit taken from Russian organized crime.

No, BeauHD, that's not fucking alarming at all. There's nothing even remotely alarming about that. Big fucking deal, they borrowed some attack code. Quit trying to be edgy, you suck at it.

What IS alarming is that instead of helping US infrastructure protect itself from Russian malware, they simply hop on the gravy-train for their own cut of that sweet, sweet US data security.

Remind me, *who* exactly are our enemies, again? Having trouble here detecting significant differences.

Strat