Category: espionage

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Japan’s Directorate for Signals Intelligence

Posted on By infossl
edwardsnowden, espionage, intelligence, japan, nsa, Security technology

The Intercept has a long article on Japan’s equivalent of the NSA: the Directorate for Signals Intelligence. Interesting, but nothing really surprising. The directorate has a history that dates back to the 1950s; its role is to eavesdrop on communications. But its operations remain so highly classified that the Japanese government has disclosed little about … Read More “Japan’s Directorate for Signals Intelligence” »

Dark Caracal: Global Espionage Malware from Lebanon

Posted on By infossl
espionage, lebanon, malware, Security technology

The EFF and Lookout are reporting on a new piece of spyware operating out of Lebanon. It primarily targets mobile devices compromised by fake secure messaging clients like Signal and WhatsApp. From the Lookout announcement: Dark Caracal has operated a series of multi-platform campaigns starting from at least January 2012, according to our research. The … Read More “Dark Caracal: Global Espionage Malware from Lebanon” »

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s Cell Phone was Tapped

Posted on By infossl
cellphones, eavesdropping, espionage, Security technology

Politico reports that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s cell phone was compromised back in December. I know this is news because of who he is, but I hope every major government official of any country assumes that their commercial off-the-shelf cell phone is compromised. Even allies spy on allies; remember the reports that … Read More “White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s Cell Phone was Tapped” »

Russian Hacking Tools Codenamed WhiteBear Exposed

Posted on By infossl
adobe, computersecurity, cyberespionage, espionage, hacking, malware, phishing, russia, Security technology

Kaspersky Labs exposed a highly sophisticated set of hacking tools from Russia called WhiteBear. From February to September 2016, WhiteBear activity was narrowly focused on embassies and consular operations around the world. All of these early WhiteBear targets were related to embassies and diplomatic/foreign affair organizations. Continued WhiteBear activity later shifted to include defense-related organizations … Read More “Russian Hacking Tools Codenamed WhiteBear Exposed” »

NSA Collects MS Windows Error Information

Posted on By infossl
espionage, hacking, incentives, microsoft, nsa, Security technology, vulnerabilities, windows, zeroday

Back in 2013, Der Spiegel reported that the NSA intercepts and collects Windows bug reports: One example of the sheer creativity with which the TAO spies approach their work can be seen in a hacking method they use that exploits the error-proneness of Microsoft’s Windows. Every user of the operating system is familiar with the … Read More “NSA Collects MS Windows Error Information” »

Tainted Leaks

Posted on By infossl
disinformation, espionage, leaks, phishing, russia, Security technology, tamperdetection

Last year, I wrote about the potential for doxers to alter documents before they leaked them. It was a theoretical threat when I wrote it, but now Citizen Lab has documented this technique in the wild: This report describes an extensive Russia-linked phishing and disinformation campaign. It provides evidence of how documents stolen from a … Read More “Tainted Leaks” »

German Government Classifies Doll as Illegal Spyware

Posted on By infossl
children, espionage, germany, Security technology, spyware

This is interesting: The My Friend Cayla doll, which is manufactured by the US company Genesis Toys and distributed in Europe by Guildford-based Vivid Toy Group, allows children to access the internet via speech recognition software, and to control the toy via an app. But Germany’s Federal Network Agency announced this week that it classified … Read More “German Government Classifies Doll as Illegal Spyware” »