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The CIA Built a Fake Software Update System To Spy On Intel Partners (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the sensitive-information dept.

Documents published by Wikileaks reveal a secret project to siphon out data through its technical liaison service, dating back to 2009. The Verge reports: The program, called ExpressLane, is designed to be deployed alongside a biometric collection system that the CIA provides to partner agencies. In theory, those partners are agreeing to provide the CIA with access to specific biometric data -- but on the off-chance those partners are holding out on them, ExpressLane gives the agency a way to take it without anyone knowing. ExpressLane masquerades as a software update, delivered in-person by CIA technicians -- but the documents make clear that the program itself will remain unchanged. Instead, the program siphons the system's data to a thumb drive, where agents can examine it to see if there's anything the partner system is holding back. If the partners refuse the phony update, there's a hidden kill-switch that lets agents shut down the entire system after a set period of time, requiring an in-person visit to restore the system.

2 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. What would you expect in Putin's Russia? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    This would never happen in the US of A!

  2. Oh, Intelligence Partners? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Intel... PCI Express Lanes... why's the CIA spying on Intel and its partners?