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Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

spiegel.de

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Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#161

Post by caskance »

bjackman wrote: post #44
th0br0 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the PDF (who's ever shipped binary as text in a pdf btw?) [1] they argue that it might be related to Australia; who knows... [1] http://www.spiegel.de/media/media-35668.pdf

Also "source code"... This is clearly not source code.

I am baffled by the people who decided to disagree with you here. Calling this source code is incredibly dishonest. It's the equivalent of saying "we've published the source code of photoshop" when you've base64-encoded photoshop.exe.

I would love to see the actual source code of regin. What they've actually published is useless to me.

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#162

Post by caskance »

upofadown wrote: post #150

OK, if you believe that there is actually such a thing as "Cyberwar" then this means that the USA has attacked Belgium. Does this give Belgium the right to physically blow up some important American infrastructure? ... or is Cyberwar a type of cold war which would limit the response to some sort of hacking of important American infrastructure?

They have the same right they would have if they were physically attacked by the US - the right to sit there and take it because they have no power.

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#163

Post by caskance »

LLWM wrote: post #96

Published it where? The only link I can find is http://www.spiegel.de/media/media-35668.pdf , and calling that source code is a bit generous to say the least.

Seriously. Did nobody else here actually come because they were interested in seeing Regin's source code? I feel like I'm in crazy land.

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#164

Post by thecatspaw »

anonbanker wrote: post #145
cyphunk wrote: post #55

down voting on HN has become absurd. Also noticing this on other comments in this thread.

I've been tracking the new downvoting trend for the last week or so. Seems there's a lot of accounts downvoting everything that doesn't coincide with Western Government sensibilities. The recent North Korea and LSD threads (not just my replies, but you can get to the threads from my comment history) are really interesting examples to trudge through and see how many valid replies are sitting at -1 or worse.

which recent LSD threads are you talking about?

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#165

Post by MichaelGG »

jcfrei wrote: post #78

Seeing that this is a keylogger, how complex would it be to enable a sort of SSL protocol between the keyboard and a specific application? The computational overhead should be manageable, the connector (USB) wouldn't need to change and there should be a fallback for any applications which doesn't support it. But if crucial applications like mail and the browser programs could use it, it might deliver another blow to…

Actually I may have been too quick to reply. This might be accomplishable with remote attestation (Intel TXT). I think Intel chips can setup trusted execution areas and provide a hash of the code running. Now, input and output are gonna be tough. You could do encryption to and from the device but then you're essentially running another computer.

It might be easier on a simple DOS like OS, where IO is m can be straightforward and handled by the hardware pretty much.

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#166

Post by ingler »

Philadelphia wrote: post #160
ingler wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if the government wants your stuff or 20-50% of it?

At the absolute barest minimum, even disregarding any context, it's better to have to one known entity demanding a share than an unlimited number of unknown ones doing the same.

If it makes no difference who is robbing or extorting you, I'd go with the ones I have a better chance of defending myself from: my neighbors.

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#167

Post by throwawayaway »

btown wrote: post #87
throwawayaway wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the problem is the consensus is the NSA/GCHQ use the tool. Your disagreement is whether the NSA/GCHQ originated it. Your comment reads as if you disagree with there being proof of any use, based on the evidence in the article. There's very little doubt the NSA/GCHQ use the tool. Here's some background reading: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8649402 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8653454 https://fi…

Whether they originated it, though, is the crux of the issue. Nobody doubts that government agencies undertake cyberwarfare. But the idea that they might have created something that is now being used by nongovernmental parties is the scary thing - it's like saying that the Army lost a cache of weapons now being used by ISIS. (Which itself is true [1], but that's another story.) [1]: http://www.businessinsider.com/isi…

> But the idea that they might have created something that is now being used by nongovernmental parties is the scary thing

Who has that idea? I don't see anyone saying that.

also: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/world/middleeast/cia-said-...

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#168

Post by res0nat0r »

rndn wrote: post #151
anonbanker wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been tracking the new downvoting trend for the last week or so. Seems there's a lot of accounts downvoting everything that doesn't coincide with Western Government sensibilities. The recent North Korea and LSD threads (not just my replies, but you can get to the threads from my comment history) are really interesting examples to trudge through and see how many valid replies are sitting at -1 or worse.

I've experienced a couple of really bad downvotes as well lately, and they had definitely no intention of editorial feedback, but it was quite obviously mindless prejudice, almost on the level of /r/politics or /r/worldnews. I wished HN would replace downvotes with a system for short and private annotations, so that people could receive concrete feedback, not something that is vaguely implied by a number. That would…

Even better would be to turn on an option for a user to show/hide political posts from the site all together

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#169

Post by dang »

cyphunk wrote: post #55

down voting on HN has become absurd. Also noticing this on other comments in this thread.

The comment you're complaining about downvotes looks to be at +33 right now. The downvote situation is always in flux, which is one reason why the HN guidelines ask you not to post comments complaining about being downvoted.

I'm going to detach this subthread and mark it off topic now.

Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan

#170

Post by dang »

anonbanker wrote: post #145
cyphunk wrote: post #55

down voting on HN has become absurd. Also noticing this on other comments in this thread.

I've been tracking the new downvoting trend for the last week or so. Seems there's a lot of accounts downvoting everything that doesn't coincide with Western Government sensibilities. The recent North Korea and LSD threads (not just my replies, but you can get to the threads from my comment history) are really interesting examples to trudge through and see how many valid replies are sitting at -1 or worse.

> I've been tracking the new downvoting trend for the last week or so. Seems there's a lot of accounts downvoting everything that doesn't coincide with Western Government sensibilities.

I'm not sure what new downvoting trend you're referring to, but I'm pretty sure there is no new anti-anti-Western-government trend on HN.

There's a strong cognitive bias toward seeing one's own views as being treated more unfairly. But as far as we can tell, there's nothing so systematic in voting behavior on the site.

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