Secret Documents Say NSA Had Broad Scope, Scant Oversight: Report
Posted on July 1, 2014 by Kara Dunlap in Security
WASHINGTON – The US National Security Agency has been authorized to intercept information “concerning” all but four countries worldwide, top-secret documents say, according to The Washington Post.
“The United States has long had broad no-spying arrangements with those four countries – Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,” the Post reported Monday.
Yet “a classified 2010 legal certification and other documents indicate the NSA has been given a far more elastic authority than previously known, one that allows it to intercept through US companies not just the communications of its overseas targets but any communications about its targets as well.”
The certification – approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and included among a set of documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden — says 193 countries are “of valid interest for US intelligence.”
The certification also let the agency gather intelligence about entities such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the report said.
“These documents show both the potential scope of the government’s surveillance activities and the exceedingly modest role the court plays in overseeing them,” Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union who had the documents described to him, told the Post.
The report stresses the NSA did not necessarily target nearly all countries but had authorization to do so.
It should come as cold comfort to Germany which was outraged by revelations last year that the NSA eavesdropped on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone, as well as about wider US surveillance programs of Internet and phone communications.
Germany’s parliament is investigating the extent of spying by the US National Security Agency and its partners on German citizens and politicians, and whether German intelligence aided its activities.
The privacy issue is a particularly sensitive one in formerly divided Germany.
Ties between Washington and Europe more broadly, as well as other nations such as Brazil, have been strained since the revelations, despite assurances from US President Barack Obama that he is ending spy taps on friendly world leaders.
The Obama administration has insisted the NSA needs tools to be able to thwart terror attacks not just against the United States, but also its allies.
Snowden, a 30-year-old former NSA contractor was granted temporary asylum by Russia last August after shaking the American intelligence establishment to its core with a series of devastating leaks on mass surveillance in the US and around the world.
© AFP 2013
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Hackers Steal Law Enforcement Inquiry Documents from Microsoft
Posted on January 25, 2014 by Kara Dunlap in Security
Recent Phishing Attacks Compromised Employee Email, Social Media Accounts at Microsoft
Microsoft on Friday said that attackers breached the email accounts of a “select number” of employees, and obtained access to documents associated with law enforcement inquiries.
According to the company, a number of Microsoft employees were targeted with attacks aiming to compromise both email and social media accounts, and in some cases, the attacks were successful.
“While our investigation continues, we have learned that there was unauthorized access to certain employee email accounts, and information contained in those accounts could be disclosed,” Adrienne Hall, General Manager at Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group, wrote in a blog post.
“It appears that documents associated with law enforcement inquiries were stolen,” Hall said.
“If we find that customer information related to those requests has been compromised, we will take appropriate action,” Hall continued. “Out of regard for the privacy of our employees and customers – as well as the sensitivity of law enforcement inquiries – we will not comment on the validity of any stolen emails or documents.”
The software giant did not say how many documents might have been obtained or exposed as a result of the attacks, or who they believe may have been behind the attacks.
Targeted attacks like this are not uncommon, especially for an organization like Microsoft. What’s interesting about this is that the incident was significant enough to disclose, indicating that a fair number of documents could have been exposed, or that the company fears some documents will make their way to the public if released by the attackers—which may be the case if this was a “hacktivist” attack.
“In terms of the cyberattack, we continue to further strengthen our security,” Hall continued. “This includes ongoing employee education and guidance activities, additional reviews of technologies in place to manage social media properties, and process improvements based on the findings of our internal investigation.”
In a Microsoft Law Enforcement Requests Report that covered the first half of 2013, Microsoft (including Skype) said that it received 37,196 requests from law enforcement agencies potentially impacting 66,539 accounts.
Microsoft has recently faced a barrage of attacks claimed by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), hackers who support President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. While no attacks have resulted in any significant data loss or company-wide impact, the company did have social media accounts and blogs compromised this month.
It is unclear if the attacks may be related to the Syrian Electronic Army.
SecurityWeek has reached out to Microsoft for additional details and this story will be updated when a response is received.
Related: Yes, Virginia, There Really is Social Engineering
Related: Social Engineering is Alive and Well. How Vulnerable is Your Organization?
Managing Editor, SecurityWeek.
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