NSA Strongly Suspected In 'Equation Group' Hacks On Russian, Iranian Hard Drives

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The U.S. National Security Agency may have been planting surveillance software into hard drives and other essential computer equipment sold around the world for more than a decade through a shadowy organization known as the Equation Group, a respected cybersecurity researcher says. The revelation, if true, indicates that operators within the NSA have been collecting far more information on the spy agencys behalf than previously thought.

The Equation Group manipulated hard drives manufactured by Toshiba, Seagate, IBM, Western Digital and others dating back as far as 2001, researchers at the Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab said Wednesday. Equation has also proven able to reprogram a machines firmware, meaning that hackers were able to monitor even the most mundane activity on tens of thousands of individual PCs without their owners knowledge.

Privacy experts say the disclosures highlight the need for international companies to do more to protect customers from evolving threats to their online security.

Existence of the Equation Group, believed to be made up of 60 or so actors, was first revealed at Kasperskys annual security summit in Mexico on Feb. 16. Kaspersky on Wednesday released further information that strongly links the organization to the NSA.

The dense technical language in the Kaspersky report essentially argues that spies were able to install malicious software into computer hard drives that activate again and again each time the computer powers on.

Researchers found source code that makes reference to STRAITACID, STRAITSHOOTER, and BACKSNARF_AB25. Those names bear a remarkable resemblance to BACKSNARF and STRAITBIZARRE, two malware campaigns used by NSAs Tailored Access Operations team and first revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Costin Raiu, Kasperskys lead researcher on the project, told Reuters that while the Equation Group was able to steal files on any of the infected computers, they assumed full control only of computers used by high-value targets. Disk drive firmware, which was infected in this hack, is the second-most valuable space on a computer for hackers (after a microprocessors input/output system), the news outlet reported.

The Equation Group appears to rely on the programs EquationDrug and GrayFish for its espionage operations.

Its important to note that EquationDrug is not just a Trojan, but a full espionage platform, which includes a framework for conducting cyberespionage activities by deploying specific modules of selected victims, stated a version of the report updated Wednesday. The architecture of the whole framework resembles a mini-operating system with kernel-mode and user-mode components carefully interacting with each other via custom message passing interface.

Again, Kaspersky did not officially pin the Equation Group on the NSA, but pointed out links that are hard to dismiss as coincidence.

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NSA Strongly Suspected In 'Equation Group' Hacks On Russian, Iranian Hard Drives

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David Allen Legal Tuesday: Wall Piercing Radar Raises Fourth Amendment Protection Issues – Video

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David Allen Legal Tuesday: Wall Piercing Radar Raises Fourth Amendment Protection Issues
Attorney David Allen discusses a case in which a convicted felon, Steven Denson, failed to report to his probation officer. An arrest warrant was issued in W...

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David Allen Legal Tuesday: Wall Piercing Radar Raises Fourth Amendment Protection Issues - Video

ACLU watches as KingCast delivers First Amendment smackdown on SJC 1:19 cameras in court. – Video

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ACLU watches as KingCast delivers First Amendment smackdown on SJC 1:19 cameras in court.
http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2012/03/kingcast-watches-as-clifford-pisano.html Hearing on Wednesday 28 March 2p. http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/...

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ACLU watches as KingCast delivers First Amendment smackdown on SJC 1:19 cameras in court. - Video

Nexstar President and CEO Receives First Amendment Service Award

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The Radio Television Digital News Foundation hosts its 25th Annual First Amendment Awards Dinner tonight in Washington D.C. And among the honorees was Perry Sook, President and CEO of WEHT's parent company, Nexstar Broadcasting.

The First Amendment Awards celebration honors working journalists and corporate executives for their hard work and dedication in the television broadcasting industry. Wednesday night, Nexstar's Chairman, President, and CEO, Perry Sook received the First Amendment Service Award.

"Our local television stations do two things," said Sook. "One we produce local content which is our service to the community and our identity, and we help local advertisers and local businesses grow."

"30 years I've been in the business, 15 with Perry," said Nexstar Co-Chief Operating Officer Tim Busch. "The man has lived up to the vision of everything he set out to do when he started this company."

Nexstar started with just one station 19 years ago. It now owns, operates, and provides sales and other services to 105 television stations reaching approximately 15.6% of all us television households. Sook says it's all about viewers having access to their news on a 24/7 basis.

"We have also endeavored to offer local news throughout the day," said Sook, "so that if you're working shift work 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., we have a newscast for you early afternoon or perhaps late night, or we have expanded our morning shows."

Sook has 33 years of experience in the television and radio broadcasting industry and credits the viewers for the success of his business

"For viewers and advertisers," said Sook, "coupling digital and broadcast is an unbeatable combination."

Also honored tonight was CBS News Correspondent Bob Simon, who was killed in a car crash last month, and journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, who were abducted and beheaded by ISIS last year.

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Nexstar President and CEO Receives First Amendment Service Award

What 'dark net' drug buyers say about their dealers

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The now-defunct Silk Road site, with drugs for sale (AP)

But what is actually on the dark net? Despite all this noise, relatively little is known. It is, of course, incredibly difficult to research. What we do know is that 2.5 million people use the Tor Browser each day. Tor can be used to browse anything online, and is much-used by civil liberties activists, journalists, and suprisise surprise law enforcement themselves. A decent fraction use Tor to get into the dark net, where there are an estimated 60 thousand or so websites an uncensored blend of the good, the bad, and the very very ugly.

The busiest sites on the dark net are probably the notorious and numerous anonymous markets. Here, anything can be bought and sold: class A narcotics ordered with a click, paid for with the crypto-currency Bitcoin, and delivered direct to your home. For my book, The Dark Net, I spent a lot of time on these sites, trying to work out how and why they worked and even going through the process of buying a small amount of cannabis from one known as Silk Road 2.0.

It turns out the key to their success is not clever encryption, or Bitcoin, or even Tor. It's good old-fashioned customer service. Every visitor to the site, after using his or her drug, leaves a piece of written feedback about the gear and gives a score out of 5. It's a little surreal, but users take it pretty seriously, because it creates the genuinely informed competition and choice which keeps the market ticking over:

Decent coke at a reasonable price. Stealthy packaging. 5/5

First order was lost...I got a reship and now im very happy...Heaven is one of the best dealers on the road!!! Very friendly and good communication too. I will be back soon 😉 5/5

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What 'dark net' drug buyers say about their dealers

Bitcoin Jesus Banned From The U.S and Vigilante Anonymous Network – Video

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Bitcoin Jesus Banned From The U.S and Vigilante Anonymous Network
In this video Luke Rudkowski talks to the bitcoin, Jesus Roger Ver about his latest bitcoin accountability project and his issues trying to enter the U.S. To find out more about Roger Ver...

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Bitcoin Jesus Banned From The U.S and Vigilante Anonymous Network - Video

DevCore Boston 2015 l What Satoshi Didn’t Know l Gavin Andresen, Bitcoin Foundation – Video

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DevCore Boston 2015 l What Satoshi Didn #39;t Know l Gavin Andresen, Bitcoin Foundation
DevCore is a series of workshops set to host around the world for all developers interested in deepening their technical expertise to support the future dev...

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DevCore Boston 2015 l What Satoshi Didn't Know l Gavin Andresen, Bitcoin Foundation - Video

Escaping War Zones with a Bitcoin Brain Wallet | Frank Schuil | TEDxStockholm – Video

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Escaping War Zones with a Bitcoin Brain Wallet | Frank Schuil | TEDxStockholm
When faced with inflating currencies, bank runs and plundering, how can you escape a war zone with all of your belongings? Frank Schuil explores the idea of using Bitcoin #39;s decentralised blockchain...

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Escaping War Zones with a Bitcoin Brain Wallet | Frank Schuil | TEDxStockholm - Video

Charles Hoskinson talks about Ethereum, Bitcoin and how to decentralize everything – Video

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Charles Hoskinson talks about Ethereum, Bitcoin and how to decentralize everything
Charles talks about why he joined and left Ethereum. There was a difference of opinion about having a profit or non-profit hybrid structure. Also Charles doesn #39;t agree with some of the tech...

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Charles Hoskinson talks about Ethereum, Bitcoin and how to decentralize everything - Video