Possibility of NSA having a spy firmware in each hard disk

[Freelancer]

Hii ni news from Reuters kwamba kuna firmware imekuwa planted na moja ya intelligence agencies katika kila hard disk zinazotoka nchini marekani. Hii firmware ina start pale unapo boot computer.

Through that firmware wanaweza waka track averything stores on your machine. The only organization that can pull this stunt is NSA.

(Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency has figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the majority of the world's computers, according to cyber researchers and former operatives.

That long-sought and closely guarded ability was part of a cluster of spying programs discovered by Kaspersky Lab, the Moscow-based security software maker that has exposed a series of Western cyberespionage operations.

Kaspersky said it found personal computers in 30 countries infected with one or more of the spying programs, with the most infections seen in Iran, followed by Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Mali, Syria, Yemen and Algeria.

The targets included government and military institutions, telecommunication companies, banks, energy companies, nuclear researchers, media, and Islamic activists, Kaspersky said.

(reut.rs/1L5knm0) The firm declined to publicly name the country behind the spying campaign, but said it was closely linked to Stuxnet, the NSA-led cyberweapon that was used to attack Iran's uranium enrichment facility. The NSA is the agency responsible for gathering electronic intelligence on behalf of the United States.

A former NSA employee told Reuters that Kaspersky's analysis was correct, and that people still in the intelligence agency valued these spying programs as highly as Stuxnet.

Another former intelligence operative confirmed that the NSA had developed the prized technique of concealing spyware in hard drives, but said he did not know which spy efforts relied on it.

NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines declined to comment. Kaspersky published the technical details of its research on Monday, which should help infected institutions detect the spying programs, some of which trace back as far as 2001.

The disclosure could further hurt the NSA's surveillance abilities, already damaged by massive leaks by former contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden's revelations have hurt the United States' relations with some allies and slowed the sales of U.S. technology products abroad.

The exposure of these new spying tools could lead to greater backlash against Western technology, particularly in countries such as China, which is already drafting regulations that would require most bank technology suppliers to proffer copies of their software code for inspection.

Peter Swire, one of five members of U.S. President Barack Obama's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology, said the Kaspersky report showed that it is essential for the country to consider the possible impact on trade and diplomatic relations before deciding to use its knowledge of software flaws for intelligence gathering.

"There can be serious negative effects on other U.S. interests," Swire said.

TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH

According to Kaspersky, the spies made a technological breakthrough by figuring out how to lodge malicious software in the obscure code called firmware that launches every time a computer is turned on.

Disk drive firmware is viewed by spies and cybersecurity experts as the second-most valuable real estate on a PC for a hacker, second only to the BIOS code invoked automatically as a computer boots up.

"The hardware will be able to infect the computer over and over," lead Kaspersky researcher Costin Raiu said in an interview.

Though the leaders of the still-active espionage campaign could have taken control of thousands of PCs, giving them the ability to steal files or eavesdrop on anything they wanted, the spies were selective and only established full remote control over machines belonging to the most desirable foreign targets, according to Raiu. He said Kaspersky found only a few especially high-value computers with the hard-drive infections.

Kaspersky's reconstructions of the spying programs show that they could work in disk drives sold by more than a dozen companies, comprising essentially the entire market.

They include Western Digital Corp, Seagate Technology Plc, Toshiba Corp, IBM, Micron Technology Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Western Digital, Seagate and Micron said they had no knowledge of these spying programs. Toshiba and Samsung declined to comment. IBM did not respond to requests for comment.

GETTING THE SOURCE CODE

Raiu said the authors of the spying programs must have had access to the proprietary source code that directs the actions of the hard drives. That code can serve as a roadmap to vulnerabilities, allowing those who study it to launch attacks much more easily.

"There is zero chance that someone could rewrite the [hard drive] operating system using public information," Raiu said.

Concerns about access to source code flared after a series of high-profile cyberattacks on Google Inc and other U.S. companies in 2009 that were blamed on China. Investigators have said they found evidence that the hackers gained access to source code from several big U.S. tech and defense companies.

It is not clear how the NSA may have obtained the hard drives' source code. Western Digital spokesman Steve Shattuck said the company "has not provided its source code to government agencies." The other hard drive makers would not say if they had shared their source code with the NSA.

Seagate spokesman Clive Over said it has "secure measures to prevent tampering or reverse engineering of its firmware and other technologies." Micron spokesman Daniel Francisco said the company took the security of its products seriously and "we are not aware of any instances of foreign code."

According to former intelligence operatives, the NSA has multiple ways of obtaining source code from tech companies, including asking directly and posing as a software developer.

If a company wants to sell products to the Pentagon or another sensitive U.S. agency, the government can request a security audit to make sure the source code is safe.

"They don't admit it, but they do say, 'We're going to do an evaluation, we need the source code,'" said Vincent Liu, a partner at security consulting firm Bishop Fox and former NSA analyst. "It's usually the NSA doing the evaluation, and it's a pretty small leap to say they're going to keep that source code."

Kaspersky called the authors of the spying program "the Equation group," named after their embrace of complex encryption formulas.

The group used a variety of means to spread other spying programs, such as by compromising jihadist websites, infecting USB sticks and CDs, and developing a self-spreading computer worm called Fanny, Kasperky said.

Fanny was like Stuxnet in that it exploited two of the same undisclosed software flaws, known as "zero days," which strongly suggested collaboration by the authors, Raiu said. He added that it was "quite possible" that the Equation group used Fanny to scout out targets for Stuxnet in Iran and spread the virus.

(Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

Source:reuters.com

 

[Mgumu04]

Mh mbona tumekwisha

 

[Fareal]

Mi hata wakijua nayofanya haiwasidii ki2.

 

[Freelancer]

Mi hata wakijua nayofanya haiwasidii ki2.

Hofu yangu ni kwa majeshi na intelligence yetu.

 

[Fareal]

Hofu yangu ni kwa majeshi na intelligence yetu.

Hapo ndo kweny tatizo.

 

[Chief-Mkwawa]

Hofu yangu ni kwa majeshi na intelligence yetu.

wamarekani wenyewe wanatumia makaratasi. hizi technology si za kuvamia hasa kama hzitengenezwi ndani ya nchi

 

[Freelancer]

wamarekani wenyewe wanatumia makaratasi. hizi technology si za kuvamia hasa kama hzitengenezwi ndani ya nchi

Wanatumia computer. ila kila computer lazuma source code iwe examined na hardware pia. Mara nyingi huwa wanatumia Defense au security Contractors. Na kampuni kabla haijafanya biashara na intelligence lazima iwe vetted.

Na wafanyakazi wake wanakuwa kama ni ma spy pia. Mfano ni Snowden. Snowden alikuwa hafanyi kazi NSA ila alikuwa anafanya kazi kwenye kampuni iliyo na contract na NSA.

Na ukitaka kufanya kazi kwenye hizi kampuni lazima uwe ni ex employee wa either CIA or NSA

 

[Chief-Mkwawa]

wanatumia computer. ila kila computer lazuma source code iwe examined na hardware pia. Mara nyingi huwa wanatumia Defense au security Contractors.

Na kampuni kabla haijafanya biashara na intelligence lazima iwe vetted. Na wafanyakazi wake wanakuwa kama ni ma spy pia. Mfano ni Snowden.

Snowden alikuwa hafanyi kazi NSA ila alikuwa anafanya kazi kwenye kampuni iliyo na contract na NSA. Na ukitaka kufanya kazi kwenye hizi kampuni lazima uwe ni ex employee wa either CIA or NSA

sure wanatumia computer ila chunguza viongozi wakubwa wa hii nchi wakiwa ofisini kupoje. mara chache unakuta computer

Obama-raisi

angalia raisi akiongea na raisi mwenzake inakuwaje. hata mikutano ya siri hawatumii hivi vidude ni makaratasi kwenda mbele

computer zinatumika kutuchunguza sisi, mawasiliano na mengineyo ila huku juu kwennye inteligence hazitumiki sana

 

[Freelancer]

Chief-Mkwawa

Computer kwao ni muhimu kwa ajili ya kusaidia kwenye analysis na pa kwa ajili ya ku exchange info kati ya agency moja na nyingine. Pia hata coordination ya covert assets inaweza ikawa managed kwennye secured database. Ila access ya computer inategemea na clearnce level ya ofisa.

Mfano kunaweza kukawa na faili fulani la asset kwenye mashine lakini only handlers na watu wenye cvlearnce level fulani ndo wanaweza wakawa waqnajua identity ye covert operatives. Ila wanachotuzidi ni kwamba wao hawanunui tu computer na kuanza kuitumia.

Computer wanayotumia wao lazima iwe built na defense contracter na si vendor yeyote wa mtaani. Na defense contrators wote huwa ni maofisa wastaafu. Hawachukui tu mtu mtaani.

 

[Aqua]

Mi hata wakijua nayofanya haiwasidii ki2.

Ndugu mwizi akija kwako hubeba kila kitu ataenda kuchambua mbele ya safari.So si kwamba wanachukua kila kitu,wana angalia information zenye umuhimu kwao,kwa kweli ukijua yanayoendelea kwenye ulimwengu wa intelligence unaweza kosa raha.
Nilishiwa nguvu nilivyogundua jamaa wanatumonitor kila mawasiliano na wametugawana wengine wanamonitor Africa,wengine Asia kazi ipo.Anya way kama huna kibaya you are ok,Osama alijua jinsi wanavyofanya kazi ndiyo maana aliepuka technologia na ikawachukua muda mrefu kumkamata.

 

[The Monk]

wamarekani wenyewe wanatumia makaratasi. hizi technology si za kuvamia hasa kama hzitengenezwi ndani ya nchi

Mkuu hata hayo makaratasi yanaandikwa kwa kutumia kompyuta hata kama sio moja kwa moja ila habari au mambo ambayo yapo kwenye hayo makaratasi lazima kompyuta itumike. Nafikiri Freelancer ameelezea kwa ufasaha zaidi.

 

[Chief-Mkwawa]

Mkuu hata hayo makaratasi yanaandikwa kwa kutumia kompyuta hata kama sio moja kwa moja ila habari au mambo ambayo yapo kwenye hayo makaratasi lazima kompyuta itumike. Nafikiri Freelancer ameelezea kwa ufasaha zaidi.

posibility ya karatasi kuandikwa na kalamu ni kubwa zaidi, muda mwingi ofisi ya obama haina hata computer unafikiri anaandikaje?

 

[The Monk]

posibility ya karatasi kuandikwa na kalamu ni kubwa zaidi, muda mwingi ofisi ya obama haina hata computer unafikiri anaandikaje?

Nimekuelewa na nakubaliana na wewe kabisa mkuu, nnachosisitiza ni kwamba sio lazima aandike yeye, hata hayo yaliyopo kwenye makaratasi chanzo chake ni kwenye kompyuta.

 

[askyade]

Me nadhani the best way nni kuwa offline(No internet) kama ilivyo best way kuzima data mode kwa android na other os.

 

[Tokyo40]

Mambo yote ya upelelezi yapo kwenye cable. Hapo ndio kuna "mlango wa nyuma" umejengwa kunyonya data kutoka kwa watumiaji wa mtandao wanapounganishiwa mtandao kutoka kwenye hizo cable walizoziweka chini kwa chini bararini na kuunganisha mitandao ya nchi mbalimbali zikifika nchi kavu.

Makampuni ya simu kama ya cable & wireless ( sasa inamilikiwa na vodafone UK ) na makampuni kama ya Cisco ya Marekani yanayotengeneza vifaa vya kupata mitandao wanafanya kazi pamoja na serikali zao kunyonya data kwa sababu za " usalama wa taifa ".

Kampuni ya Kichina inayotengeneza vifaa vya simu na mitandao pia, huawei, imekataliwa kuuza cable Marekani kwa sababu za "usalama wa taifa". Mwenye hio kampuni, Ren Zhenfei, alikuwa afisa wa kijeshi wa China na wanahofu kuwa jeshi la China linafanya kazi nae pamoja za kunyonya data katika cable zake. Huawei imekanusha habari hio na kusema sababu ni kubanwa kibiashara katika soko la Marekani. Inaendelea kuuza vifaa vyake Ulaya na hata kwetu vya thamani ya US$40 bilioni sawasawa na uzalishaji wote wa Tanzania.

Soma zaidi chini.

GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world's communications

Exclusive: British spy agency collects and stores vast quantities of global email messages, Facebook posts, internet histories and calls, and shares them with NSA, latest documents from Edward Snowden reveal.

Cable and Wireless even went as far as providing traffic from a rival foreign communications company, handing information sent by millions of internet users worldwide over to spies.

Source: theguardian.com


American officials have long considered Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant, a security threat, blocking it from business deals in the United States for fear that the company would create “back doors” in its equipment that could allow the Chinese military or Beijing-backed hackers to steal corporate and government secrets.

source: washingtonpost.com




...........The N.S.A. saw an additional opportunity: As Huawei invested in new technology and laid undersea cables to connect its $40 billion-a-year networking empire, the agency was interested in tunneling into key Chinese customers, including “high priority targets — Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Cuba.”

The documents offer no answer to a central question: Is Huawei an independent company, as its leaders contend, or a front for the People’s Liberation Army, as American officials suggest but have never publicly proved?

Still, the October 2012 report concluded that the companies must be blocked from “acquisitions, takeover or mergers” in the United States, and “cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence.”

Huawei, which has all but given up its hopes of entering the American market, complains that it is the victim of protectionism, swathed in trumped-up national security concerns. Company officials insist that it has no connection to the People’s Liberation Army.

The man behind Huawei is Ren Zhengfei, the company’s elusive founder, who was a P.L.A. engineer in the 1970s. To the Chinese, he is something akin to Steve Jobs — an entrepreneur who started a digital empire with little more than $3,000 in the mid-1980s, and took on both state-owned companies and foreign competitors. But to American officials, he is a link to the People’s Liberation Army.


Source: nytimes.com

 

[Freelancer]

posibility ya karatasi kuandikwa na kalamu ni kubwa zaidi, muda mwingi ofisi ya obama haina hata computer unafikiri anaandikaje?

Cheki mzee mzima ndani ya airforce one na kuna laptop pembeni. unasemaje kuhusu hilo?

 

[Chief-Mkwawa]

Cheki mzee mzima ndani ya airforce one na kuna laptop pembeni. unasemaje kuhusu hilo?

hahaha ofcourse huko atatumia laptop, au anataka avidondoshe vimemo toka kwenye ndege vidondokee pentagon?