Friday 1 September 2017

How the CIA spies on your everyday life, according to WikiLeaks

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WikiLeaks’ latest release from the Vault 7 series of CIA leaks, sheds more light on how ordinary people can be easily tracked and targeted by the US intelligence agency through everyday electronic devices.
Since March 7, WikiLeaks has revealed CIA hacking techniques used to weaponize mobile phones, conduct surveillance via smart TVs, and load and execute malware on a ‘target machine’.
In light of Thursday’s 20th release from Vault 7, RT looks back at the most explosive revelations from the CIA’s hacking arsenal, showing how the intelligence agency could spy on you in your own home.
Home Security Systems
The ‘Dumbo’ program is purportedly designed to manipulate home security systems, altering the functionality of webcams and microphones on Microsoft Windows-operating systems and corrupting video recordings.
WikiLeaks suggested that this allows the operator to create fake – or destroy real – evidence of their intrusion into the device.
Smart TVs
Many of the exploits revealed through the leaked Vault 7 documents appear designed to target ordinary individuals through commonly used devices.
The CIA allegedly has access to a range of tools that even target Samsung TVs under its ‘Weeping Angel’ program. The project involves infiltrating the smart TVs to transform them into covert microphones, which can record and store audio.
Android devices
Google’s Android operating system was found to have 24 ‘zero days’ – the codename used by the CIA for tools to identify and exploit vulnerabilities and secretly collect data on individuals.
The OS is used in 85 percent of the world’s smart phones, including Samsung and Sony.
By exploiting gaps in the OS, it’s possible to access data from social messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Weibo, Telegram and Signal before encryption is applied.
Another program appears specifically designed to target mobile devices running Android 4.0 to 4.3, allowing a third party to intercept and redirect SMS messages.

Apple products
Apple products are not immune to the CIA’s hacking tools either. In fact, Vault 7 revealed a specific division dedicated to the hacking of Apple devices .
A tool known as ‘NightSkies’ specifically targets Apple products including the iPhone and Macbook Air. It purportedly even allows the CIA to infiltrate factory-fresh iPhones and track and control them remotely, providing “full remote command and control.”
WiFi
WiFi can be easily exploited by the agency for spying, according to a number of leaks. One program called Cherry Blossom allegedly targets WiFi devices to monitor, control and manipulate the Internet traffic of connected users.
No physical access is needed to implant the firmware on a wireless device, as some devices allow their firmware to be upgraded over a wireless link.
Another malware called Elsa tracks WiFi-enabled devices running Microsoft Windows, allowing the CIA to gather location data on a target’s device and monitor their patterns and habits.
The malware allows the CIA to track the geo-location of wifi-enabled devices even when they are not connected to the internet.
Microsoft
Most of the malware referenced throughout the leaks is designed for use on the widely popular Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Many of these programs focus on uploading the malware via removable devices such as USB drives. Some, such as the ‘brutal kangaroo’ project, are designed to hide themselves from detection, and can even infect devices that have never been connected to the internet by air gap jumping.

posted by Satish Sharma at 07:41 0 Comments

CIA sneak undetectable ‘malicious’ implants onto Windows OS - WikiLeaks

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Windows machines are targeted by the CIA under ‘Angelfire,’ according to the latest release from WikiLeaks’ ‘Vault7’ series. The documents detail an implant that can allow Windows machines to create undetectable libraries.
‘Angelfire’ consists of five components – ‘Solartime,’‘Wolfcreek,’ ‘Keystone,’ ‘BadMFS,’ and the ‘Windows Transitory File system,’ according to a statement from WikiLeaks released on Thursday.
‘Solartime’ modifies the partition boot sector of Windows XP or Windows 7 machines when installed, allowing the ‘Wolfcreek’ implant to load and execute. ‘Wolfcreek’ can then load and execute other ‘Angelfire’ implants.
Previously known as ‘MagicWand,’ ‘Keystone’ loads malicious user applications on the machine which never touch the file system, leaving “very little forensic evidence that the process ever ran” according to WikiLeaks.
‘BadMFS’ is described as a library which stores all drivers and implants that ‘Wolfcreek’ can activate. In some versions it can be detected, but in most it’s encrypted and obfuscated, making it undetectable to string or PE header scanning, used to detect malware.
‘Windows Transitory File system’ is used to install ‘AngelFire,’ according to the release, allowing the addition or removal of files from it.
WikiLeaks says the leaked ‘Vault 7’ documents came from within the CIA, which has in turn refused to confirm their authenticity. Previous releases include details on CIA hacking tools used to weaponize mobile phones, compromize smart TVs and the ability to trojan the Apple OS.

posted by Satish Sharma at 07:36 0 Comments

'Russian consulate shutdown: Deep State victory or Trump’s attempt to avoid impeachment?'



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While the closure of Russian diplomatic facilities in the US will likely ramp up tensions with Moscow, the decision might be prompted by the outstanding issues within the US and its administration, says Afshin Rattansi, host of RT UK’s Going Underground.
On Thursday, the US State Department demanded closure of the Russian consulate in San Francisco, as well as two annex buildings in Washington and New York. The decision was motivated by the “spirit of parity invoked by the Russians”and came in response to Moscow ordering the US to reduce its diplomatic personnel in Russia, according to the US State Department.
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Consulate-General of Russia in San Francisco, California © Josh EdelsonUS orders closure of Russian Consulate in San Francisco – State Department
While the decision will likely to ramp up tensions between the two countries, the reasons behind it might have deeper roots, Rattansi believes.
“One can say pretty firmly that the change of the chief of staff and other personnel in the Trump White House means that, as some would have it, the Deep State has won and this so-called ‘isolationist Donald Trump candidate’ is over. He’s ramping up military war games on the Korean peninsula, he’s ramping up troops to Afghanistan and he’s ramping up troops to Russia’s actual borders in the European Union countries,” Rattansi said, adding that this is all quite in line with the recent Trump policy of heating up tensions worldwide and searching for enemies.
“What we’re seeing here is definitely ramping up of tension with Moscow. We have to wait [and see] what the next enemy of Washington is, is it now going to be China?”
The aggressive US policy is being watched closely by the international community and the developing countries, Rattansi said, stressing that previously purely diplomatic questions are now becoming international flashpoints.
“The United States is ramping it up when it comes to the foreign diplomatic pressure, foreign military pressure. We must remember the number of times the Trump White House said ‘all options are on the table’ over a variety of different problems that previously have been seen as diplomatic,” Rattansi said.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov © Valeriy MelnikovLavrov to Tillerson on consulate closure: We regret escalation of tension not initiated by Russia
Such behavior might be a desperate attempt to fix the internal problems in the US and help Trump to beat the “Russia collusion”narrative, which has been plaguing his presidency.
“A cynic might say that while this may be not very good news for Russian citizens in the United States and business partnerships and so on between the United states and Russia, this could be a means seen by some in the Trump administration of trying to curb … continuous attacks on US media that Donald Trump is compromised by the Putin government in Moscow,” Rattansi said.
“By doing this he can say ‘Look, I’m no pawn of Moscow, here I am, making unprecedented closures of diplomatic facilities and actually creating more tensions with Moscow than President Obama did or did his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.’ And therefore by showing this might, he’s somehow independent and therefore ‘Please don’t impeach me’,” Rattansi said.
It’s quite hard to tell how far the tensions can go, as there will always be diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington, “because they are the biggest nuclear powers on Earth,” Rattansi believes. “We have to wait and see whether Donald Trump himself tweets differently or indeed speaks differently, when he talks at a press conference – compared to the former CEO of Exxon, Rex Tillerson, his Secretary of State, someone much more arguably deeply allied to the Deep State.”

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

posted by Satish Sharma at 07:31 0 Comments