NSA Hacking Tips Revealed
Hackers have released computer files and documents that provide the framework for how the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) used weaknesses in the global system’s security to access the same system that’s used to transfer money between accounts.
Hackers have released computer files and documents that provide the framework for how the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) used weaknesses in the global system’s security to access the same system that’s used to transfer money between accounts. The documents and files indicate how NSA has accessed SWIFT money transfer system via service providers in Latin America and the Middle East and is just one example in a series of recent disclosures in previous months.
Matt Suiche, the founder of cybersecurity firm Comae Technologies, said, “As soon as they bypass the firewalls, they target the machines using Microsoft exploits.” These exploits are basically programs which are designed to take advantage of security flaws and are what hackers use to gain access, eavesdrop, and carry out other hacking tasks. After the leak, users were obviously concerned, but Microsoft assures its customers that these security flaws have now been patched.
SWIFT downplayed the incident and although admitted some banks had been breached, nowhere was the NSA mentioned at all. In a recent presentation released by the hacking group, Shadow Brokers indicates that in breaching the SWIFT system the NSA used a tool name BARGELEE. One slide showed the NSA’s official seal, while another referred to ASA firewalls, where Cisco are the only manufacturers of these. Apparently, there were nine servers in total at SWIFT contractor, EastNets, that were targeted by the NSA, although currently, the company is denying the attack.
The documents also suggest that after the NSA penetrated the firewall of the SWIFT service providers, they then used Microsoft exploits to target any computers that were linked to the SWIFT network. Again, Microsoft is adamant that patches are now in place that has fixed any previous flaws that were exploited by nine NSA programs. Microsoft failed to comment as to how it found out about the exploits. In the past, the company has monitored discussions about exploits on the Internet and hired ex-intelligence agency staff to help protect its software.
More News to Read
- NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Has Nearly Depleted the Fuel Reserves
- The Quantum Communication Revolution and Extraterrestrial Intelligence
- Google’s Machine Translation Can Directly Transcribe Foreign Speech
- Space is Cold, But If You Move Faster, Does Space Heat Up?
- Can An Object Ever Give Rise to a Naked Singularity?
Related Coverage
- The Democratic National Committee’s Security Compromised As Trump Files Hacked
- New Trend is Internet of Things For The Intelligence Agencies
- Our Online Passwords are so Easy that Most “Hacking” Doesn’t Require Actual Hacking
- Hackers Believes Steam is Vulnerable but Valve Does not Care About it
- Bitcoin Regulations Create Issues for Cyber Security Experts
Don't miss new tech stories on Google
Add TrendinTech once in the Google app and our stories appear in your news suggestions.
Rachel Kowalski
Rachel Kowalski is the Cybersecurity Analyst at TrendinTech, where she covers vulnerabilities, ransomware, supply chain attacks, nation-state operations and the security rules shaping organizations in the United States and Europe. Before moving into journalism she worked as a threat intelligence analyst at a security vendor and later reported for CyberScoop and the security desk at Wired, covering the SolarWinds compromise and the ransomware wave that hit hospitals and pipelines. Rachel holds a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from the Georgia Institute of Technology and attends Black Hat and DEF CON in Las Vegas each year, where she follows research from the security community. She writes to make risks and countermeasures understandable to people who are not specialists.
All stories by Rachel Kowalski (214)