The National Security Agency (NSA) is in the news again - this time for dumping malware on more than 50,000 computer networks around the world.
The news comes courtesy of Dutch media outlet NRC Handelsblad, which reveals that the figure is based on documents that Edward Snowden leaked.
"The American intelligence service - NSA - infected more than 50,000 computer networks worldwide with malicious software designed to steal sensitive information. Documents provided by former NSA-employee Edward Snowden and seen by this newspaper, prove this," reports NRC Handelsblad.
An NSA management presentation from 2012 shows how the intelligence service gathers information globally. The presentation also reveals that NSA deploys Computer Network Exploitation (CNE), which is the "secret infiltration of computer systems" achieved with the installation of malicious software or malware, in over 50,000 locations.
An example of such a hacking was discovered in September 2013 at Belgium's telecom provider Belgacom. Reportedly, for several years, the NSA's UK counterpart, the British intelligence service GCHQ has been installing this malware in Belgacom's network to tap into its customers' telephone and data traffic. GCHQ apparently gained access to the Belgacom network via a process of luring employees to a fake Linkedin page.
The malware is reportedly capable of collecting sensitive data and is believed to have distributed by NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group. This special department reportedly employs more than a thousand elite hackers.
The malware is believed to function like digital "sleeper cells" i.e. it can be turned off or on remotely at NSA's command.
Apparently, the NSA has been carrying out such a cyber operation since 1998, per the Washington Post.
In 2008, the NSA apparently had managed to infect over 20,000 networks. It reportedly aims to infect 85,000 networks by the end of 2013, as part of its GENIE program, under which TAO is deployed to infect computers.
Currently, it is not known what exactly the malware is capable of. However, per reports, the NSA is also developing a new version which will be capable of identifying voice commands and will collect only desirable excerpts of the data.
