‘NSA intercepts bug reports Windows for but goal’

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The specialist department for Tailored Access Operations at the NSA analyzes the bug reports that Windows sends after a crash. The information would be used to indicate possible weak points of targets to study.

Reports that Der Spiegel, in an article about the TAO unit of NSA, which is drawn up on the basis of information from whistleblower Edward Snowden. The specialized division focuses on the harder targets and would have a large number of tools available in order to obtain information. In studying a target in Mexico a method is described whereby the intelligence bug reports of Windows-systems from internet traffic knows how to filter. That is why the XKeyscore, a tool that the NSA uses online data to analyze.

With the information gathered from bug reports of Windows that can be sent to Microsoft, if an application or part of the OS crashes, the TAO hackers are trying to use up what vulnerabilities a system contains. These security holes would be able to borrow for the placing of spyware or other malwarevarianten on the systems of a target. In practice, this passive afluistermethode not very many have been successful, but the department made a presentation of jokes about the safety of Windows.

Der Spiegel reports that the NSA has been able to data drain on an important fibre optic connection between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. This would be possible by systems of the administrators, in this case French and Italian telecom companies. Through the Quantuminsert method will be employees of these companies to fake websites full of malware lured. So would the NSA have sufficient information to since February 2013 to have access to the fiber network on the layer 2 network level.