Slashdot Mirror
Autocratic Governments Can Now 'Buy Their Own NSA' (wired.com)
Citizen Lab has been studying information controls since 2001, and this week their director -- a Toronto political science professor -- revealed how governments (including Ethiopia's) are using powerful commercial spyware. Slashdot reader mspohr shared their report:
We monitored the command and control servers used in the campaign and in doing so discovered a public log file that the operators mistakenly left open... We were also able to identify the IP addresses of those who were targeted and successfully infected: a group that includes journalists, a lawyer, activists, and academics... Many of the countries in which the targets live -- the United States, Canada, and Germany, among others -- have strict wiretapping laws that make it illegal to eavesdrop without a warrant... Our team reverse-engineered the malware used in this instance, and over time this allowed us to positively identify the company whose spyware was being employed by Ethiopia: Cyberbit Solutions, a subsidiary of the Israel-based homeland security company Elbit Systems. Notably, Cyberbit is the fourth company we have identified, alongside Hacking Team, Finfisher, and NSO Group, whose products and services have been abused by autocratic regimes to target dissidents, journalists, and others...
Remarkably, by analyzing the command and control servers of the cyber espionage campaign, we were also able to monitor Cyberbit employees as they traveled the world with infected laptops that checked in to those servers, apparently demonstrating Cyberbit's products to prospective clients. Those clients include the Royal Thai Army, Uzbekistan's National Security Service, Zambia's Financial Intelligence Centre, and the Philippine president's Malacañang Palace. Outlining the human rights abuses associated with those government entities would fill volumes.... Governments like Ethiopia no longer depend on their own in-country advanced computer science, engineering, and mathematical capacity in order to build a globe-spanning cyber espionage operation. They can simply buy it off the shelf from a company like Cyberbit. Thanks to companies like these, an autocrat whose country has poor national infrastructure but whose regime has billions of dollars, can order up their own NSA. To wit: Elbit Systems, the parent company of Cyberbit, says it has a backlog of orders valuing $7 billion.
Reached for comment, Cyberbit said they were not responsible with what others do with their software, arguing that "governmental authorities and law enforcement agencies are responsible to ensure that they are legally authorized to use the products in their jurisdictions."
Remarkably, by analyzing the command and control servers of the cyber espionage campaign, we were also able to monitor Cyberbit employees as they traveled the world with infected laptops that checked in to those servers, apparently demonstrating Cyberbit's products to prospective clients. Those clients include the Royal Thai Army, Uzbekistan's National Security Service, Zambia's Financial Intelligence Centre, and the Philippine president's Malacañang Palace. Outlining the human rights abuses associated with those government entities would fill volumes.... Governments like Ethiopia no longer depend on their own in-country advanced computer science, engineering, and mathematical capacity in order to build a globe-spanning cyber espionage operation. They can simply buy it off the shelf from a company like Cyberbit. Thanks to companies like these, an autocrat whose country has poor national infrastructure but whose regime has billions of dollars, can order up their own NSA. To wit: Elbit Systems, the parent company of Cyberbit, says it has a backlog of orders valuing $7 billion.
Reached for comment, Cyberbit said they were not responsible with what others do with their software, arguing that "governmental authorities and law enforcement agencies are responsible to ensure that they are legally authorized to use the products in their jurisdictions."
How many more reasons are required to get rid of it.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
My hat has feathers and fruit and is fabulous.
You are welcome on my lawn.
This story broke just a few days ago.
http://www.theblaze.com/news/2...
https://www.salon.com/2017/12/...
Autocrats gonna be autocrats.
You are welcome on my lawn.
The authors must be time travelers from the last century. It is rare to find this kind of true reporting today. Let's hope there are no accidents in their futures.
That's because they've passed so many stupid laws everyone is guilty of something and just want things to end one way or another already.
Autocratic governments?
I'm trying real hard to think of a government that would NOT do such things. Maybe Norway? Is there any country where government officials are not far more wealthy than the citizens? Any country where government officials are not exempt from the laws that apply to citizens? Any country where government officials don't receive a lifetime income for their short term in power?
...omphaloskepsis often...
For an NSA you will need a list of nations that can support your staging servers and collection sites.
Start with a 5 eyes and grow it to NATO size.
Make sure the nations are globally located to ensure world wide collect it all. Hide them for decades under UK/US names like Langeleben, Masirah Island, Mutlah Ridge, Silvermine, Two Boats, Windmill, Daniels Head. The media will never believe a whistleblower with names like that over the decades.
Collect it all globally and when interesting people are found 4 hops from other interesting people use the power of the
ANT catalog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Shop for some COTTONMOUTH, DROPOUTJEEP. Go full quantum insert.
Problems with your global NSA style network.
People notice the UK/US base building and expansion. Water use, cooling , power, Room 641A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/....
Having private sector security guards run out and question people with a camera on public land in the area also draws internet attention to a sensitive site.
Ex mil who take up the first amendment audit hobby know who your contractors are and will tell the world about communications front companies.
Having to use the other domestic law enfacement "agencies" to provide domestic color of law when spying within the USA.
Too many people have to know and support global collect it all. Courts, telcos, contractors, lawyers, big brands, junk OS developers, tame AV brands, mil, federal investigators and police. Ex and former staff then tell their faith, cult, new boss, criminal groups, other governments for cash.
Problems like SISMI-Telecom scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... , Greek wiretapping case 2004–05 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...–05 start to happen as too many people have the trapdoor, back door to junk encryption.
The global collection network gets too big and is then discovered, access is sold to criminals, shared with faith groups.
People who really map and understand the "internet" start to find the security services once hidden staging servers and copy out all the gov/mil grade malware.
Too many contractors trying to keep too many secrets that still have to give full access to the US gov and mil in real time.
Having to tell political leaders success stories to get next years budget. Political leaders then tell the media of winning. Secrets get told and the media spreads the best collection methods to anyone who can follow the news.
Low pay for gov and mil workers. Contractors getting more pay. Criminals, cults and other nations walk in and help with cash payments and an understanding converstaion. Too many internal spies are created as too many people know too much and cant cover their living costs.
How to make a GCHQ.
Follow the US idea of global collection but put a lot more effort into the actual interesting people.
Dont tell your contractors, lawyers, courts, police, media of the results, methods, tools.
Pay your mil and select contractors really well. Dont let trusted staff talk to the media, human rights lawyers, courts.
No need to mention car, van, helicopter, aircraft tracking for any reason to anyone. The results of pushing malware into any cell phone.
Just pass the results onto a select few trusted mil and police units. Set up something within your own police like the Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch. Get them to work with the mil and social forces. Stay away from all other police, lawyers, courts. Act on results using the special forces and very select loyal police units only.
Such secrecy is now needed as telcos, courts, police, some in mil, gov, political parties, NGO, human rights groups are now flooded with people who have never had background investigations.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Litlle passage in the Constitution about being secure in our persons and papers. The government needing a warrant, etc.
Said the crack dealer behind the middle school.
I didn't hear you complaining last night.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I've poster a dozen times how ourbown government, wanting backdoors into everything, was instantiating 1984 for billions worldwide as dictatorships used it for its real purpose, to keep their political opponents down.
Yey, we catch a few crooks. For every notch in the fed's belt, envision 100,000,000 or more with a boot on their neck...forever.
It's also not in accordance with the design principles of the US government, where the Constitution is concerned with forbidding the tools of tyrrany to begin with.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.