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CIA malware and hacking tools

wikileaks.org

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Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#541

Post by djsumdog »

mikeyouse wrote: post #510
u_wot_m8 wrote: post #48

>"As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations." Reminds me of the reporter who was supposedly working on a massive investigation and then died in a flaming car crash while skipping town. Forgot his name

I can't believe this meme won't die -- it's so incredibly disrespectful to his family. Honestly no better than the Sandy Hook Truther bullshit. Michael Hastings was a recovering alcoholic and meth-abuser whose brother, Jonathan, had flown into town the day before because he suspected that Michael was having a manic breakdown similar to the ones he had in the past. Jonathan had been called to LA since several of Micha…

That doesn't explain the photos of the car's aftermath.

I mean, it's just as likely people pressured his family to say this (either organized crime or the government .. really the same thing).

It's not dying because it's highly suspicious and the narrative doesn't fit, the news reports are conflicting and much of the evidence is gone.

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#542

Post by chatmasta »

monochromatic wrote: post #452
1_2__3 wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is it? Your phrasing implies those are the same thing. They're not.

They're not the same, but they're pretty well indistinguishable for anyone who isn't omniscient.

The CIA has a long standing "no comment" policy when asked about the authenticity of any documents. So you can't rely on the absence of a counter-claim to prove the veracity of the documents.

I wouldn't rule out an intentional leak to spread misinformation.

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#543

Post by supernumerary »

kevinbowman wrote: post #536
xherberta wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow! I heard that when the UK began using radar to down enemy planes at night during WWII, the gov't claimed the pilots had been "eating a lot of carrots."

Yep, there's still a common belief in the UK that eating carrots gives you good night-vision, entirely because of that cover story.

On that note here's an image of a badge from Detachment 4 of the 18th Intelligence squadron based out of Feltwell Norfolk. Note the Carrot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_Intelligence_Squadron#/me...

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#544

Post by mikeyouse »

djsumdog wrote: post #541
mikeyouse wrote: post #510

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't believe this meme won't die -- it's so incredibly disrespectful to his family. Honestly no better than the Sandy Hook Truther bullshit. Michael Hastings was a recovering alcoholic and meth-abuser whose brother, Jonathan, had flown into town the day before because he suspected that Michael was having a manic breakdown similar to the ones he had in the past. Jonathan had been called to LA since several of Micha…

That doesn't explain the photos of the car's aftermath. I mean, it's just as likely people pressured his family to say this (either organized crime or the government .. really the same thing). It's not dying because it's highly suspicious and the narrative doesn't fit, the news reports are conflicting and much of the evidence is gone.

> That doesn't explain the photos of the car's aftermath.

Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds? I take it you're an experienced crash-scene investigator?

How exactly would an accident scene differ if the accident were caused by a CIA-backed exploit vs. your standard high speed crash?

> I mean, it's just as likely people pressured his family to say this (either organized crime or the government .. really the same thing).

No, it's really not just as likely. In fact it's not likely at all.

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#545

Post by badloginagain »

abandonliberty wrote: post #485

It's interesting to note that Julian Assange didn't demonstrate control of the wikileaks private key during his Reddit AMA 1 month ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5n58sm/i_am_julian_as... Considering the political situation unfolding in the US and who this leak weakens, there is some evidence that wikileaks is not in the hands of a neutral party. There is clear motive right now for undermining the CIA. Th…

It absolutely provides the Trump Administration with cassus belli to take punitive measures against the CIA. WikiLeaks appeared to have received the dump quite recently.

This is all conjecture, but this could be seen as a 'civil cyber war'. The Executive branch suffers from leaks, followed by an evisceration of the CIA hacking capabilities? Trumps love of the intelligence community is well known, and the scale of these leaks can be seen as a warning to the other agencies: the Executive branch will accept severe destabilization risks to protect itself.

Will be interesting to see if things escalate.

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#546

Post by ben0x539 »

jMyles wrote: post #488
dvcc wrote: post #5

Based on the overview alone (of course I can't read the entire report that fast!), this is exactly what I expect a spy agency would be doing -- if they were not then I would be disappointed. What exactly in the admittedly shortened list am I supposed to be upset about? It makes no distinction between US citizens and overseas parties. If these actions are being done domestically against US citizens, with no just cause…

> What exactly in the admittedly shortened list am I supposed to be upset about? That, with taxpayer dollars, the government of the United States is undermining the security of consumer devices around the world. Part of the difference between your worldview and the view of those of us who find this behavior childish and unacceptable is that you "expect a spy agency would be doing [this;] if they were not then [you] w…

your chart is defective, the y-axis is supposed to continue indefinitely in either direction

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#547

Post by njharman »

dvcc wrote: post #5

Based on the overview alone (of course I can't read the entire report that fast!), this is exactly what I expect a spy agency would be doing -- if they were not then I would be disappointed. What exactly in the admittedly shortened list am I supposed to be upset about? It makes no distinction between US citizens and overseas parties. If these actions are being done domestically against US citizens, with no just cause…

> am I supposed to be upset about?

Who do you imagine is asking you to be upset about anything. A strawman?

This is knowledge. Wikileaks is about spreading knowledge. How you react to that knowledge is entirely up to you.

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#548

Post by FoeNyx »

tannhauser23 wrote: post #295
alain94040 wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You misunderstand the point of the form. The point is that if later you are suspected of one of those activities, you can be deported because you lied on the form, even though it might be impossible to convict you for the activity itself.

This is absolutely correct. Plus, what they did may not be illegal per se, but we might not want them in the country. For example, I'm not aware of any U.S. law that specifically makes it illegal to have been Nazi concentration camp guard. But we don't want people like that in the country and want to deport them if they are ever found here. Hence the purpose of the immigration form.

Not sure you can call it an immigration form, because it's targeting "nonimmigrant visitor".

Moreover the form do not specifically mention concentration camp guards:

> "(...) between 1933 and 1945 were involved, in any way, in persecutions associated with Nazi Germany or its allies?"

I guess Wernher von Braun, like most of the people included in the "Operation Paperclip"[1] would have fallen in that category in some way.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#549

Post by ajross »

moduspwnens14 wrote: post #349
ajross wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet the leaked tools don't seem to have much in the way of hardware-based exploits, which might say something about the feasibility of this kind of thing on actual systems. Obviously it can be done, but it were as pervasive as the tinfoil hatters believe, surely it would have shown up here. No?

The document covers how they put a good amount of effort into ensuring there's not a clear link back to the CIA or relevant parties if one of these things is discovered. I imagine having hardware level vulnerabilities would much more quickly point directly to the only agencies capable of such techniques.

That's sort of my point though. If hardware back doors exist (and I don't argue that they can't!) they're exotic, highly protected and rarely used. They aren't routine instruments of state surveillance.

Re: CIA malware and hacking tools

#550

Post by staunch »

The technology used by the CIA and NSA is all stuff people on HN can totally grok. That's kind of exciting and disappointing at the same time.

Some people on this site could probably do better than the CIA and NSA is doing. Some people here probably wrote some of leaked stuff. Hah!

I like the way the teams are broken up by device target but I think they should probably have an even more decentralized setup. Or maybe just more teams doing the same work. Wikileaks tries to make a political point about wasted effort, but more people means more exploits found, etc.

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