Snowden Docs Expose How the NSA "Infects" Millions of Computers, Impersonates Facebook Server
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New disclosures from Edward Snowden show the NSA
is massively expanding its computer hacking worldwide. Software that
automatically hacks into computers — known as malware "implants" — had
previously been kept to just a few hundred targets. But the news website
The Intercept reports that the NSA is
spreading the software to millions of computers under an automated
system codenamed "Turbine." The Intercept has also revealed the NSA
has masqueraded as a fake Facebook server to infect a target’s computer
and exfiltrate files from a hard drive. We are joined by The Intercept
reporter Ryan Gallagher.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to our last segment, the latest on leaks from Edward Snowden.
TheIntercept.org
reported last week the National Security Agency is dramatically
expanding its ability to covertly hack into computers on a mass scale by
using automated systems that reduce the level of human oversight in the
process.
The Intercept also revealed the
NSA has masqueraded as a fake Facebook server to infect a target’s computer and exfiltrate files from a hard drive.
Joining us now is Ryan Gallagher from
The Intercept, co-wrote the
piece, "[How] the
NSA Plans to Infect 'Millions' of Computers with Malware." Explain, Ryan.
RYAN GALLAGHER:
Hi, Amy. Yeah, and the story we wrote last week, really, the key thing
about it is the extent to which these techniques have really rapidly
escalated in the last decade. And what we can see and what we reported
was that, since about 2004, the National Security Agency has expanded
the use of what it calls these "implants," which are sort of malicious
software implants within computers and computer networks, and even phone
networks, to basically steal data from those systems. About 10 years
ago, they had, they say, about a hundred and a hundred and—between a
hundred and 150 of these implants, but within the last decade that
expanded to an estimated 100,000, in some reports, and they’re building a
system to be capable of deploying "millions," in their own words, of
these implants.
AMY GOODMAN:
The revelation around the issue of Facebook has led Facebook founder
Mark Zuckerberg to call President Obama on Wednesday and demand an
explanation. He later wrote in a blog post, quote, "I’ve been so
confused and frustrated by the repeated reports of the behavior of the
US government. When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security,
we imagine we’re protecting you against criminals, not our own
government."
RYAN GALLAGHER:
Yeah, and Mark Zuckerberg was definitely very agitated, we think, about
the report and seems to have got on the phone to Obama. And
interestingly, the
NSA later issued a—actually
claimed that they hadn’t impersonated U.S. websites. However, their own
documents actually say that they pretended to be the Facebook server
for this particular surveillance technique, so their denial sort of
doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny when compared with their own
documents. And there’s a bit of sort of a—you know, there’s questions to
be asked about that.
Read More Here
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Robert Galbraith/Reuters
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg called President Obama on Wednesday night to
express frustration about the government's spying and hacking programs.
"When
our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we're
protecting you against criminals, not our own government," Zuckerberg
wrote in a Facebook post Thursday afternoon.
It may seem
disingenuous for the leader of a giant tech company that hoards your
data (and sells it wholesale) to point an angry finger at government
surveillance. But Zuckerberg's complaint is specifically aimed at one
thing: hacking.
His concerns are based on the latest investigative
report from The Intercept, which revealed that the National Security
Agency has weaponized the Internet, making it possible to inject bad
software into innocent peoples' computers en masse. Put simply, using
the QUANTUM program, the NSA can sneak into someone's Web browser.
The report is based on documents provided by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Read More Here
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