Top-secret documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden showed that the National Security Agency has been hacking into computers all over the world by using protocols that are difficult to monitor using existing security systems.
The files acquired by The Intercept revealed how the NSA performs their surveillance in a massive scale as well as the technology that they used to infect computers with "implants". These implants work differently, but they enable the NSA to access private files and retrieve data from overseas networks and phone lines.
An implant called the UNITEDRAKE utilizes "plug-ins" to let NSA officials gain control and access over the computer. Another one called CAPTIVATEDAUDIENCE, is used to target computer's microphone and record the conversations without the user knowing about it. Similarly, an implant called GUMFISH, can take control over the webcam and take pictures of the surroundings. GROK is used to record keystrokes, SALVAGRABBIT to extract files from removable devices connected to the computer and FOGGYBOTTOM is used to record Internet browsing history.
Another implant, called QUANTUMHAND, is considered as a man-on-the-side technique. This implant presents itself as the Facebook server, and when the user logs into his Facebook accounts, NSA will send data packets to trick the computer into thinking that it's sending data to Facebook. The malware hidden in the Facebook login page enabled NSA to hack into thousands of computers worldwide and retrieve the files from these infected devices.
Matt Blaze, a surveillance and cryptography expert from the University of Pennsylvania, explained that QUANTUMHAND seems to be used in targeting certain individuals. However, he is concerned about it since it is embedded on the Internet, which is a public network.
"As soon as you put this capability in the backbone infrastructure, the software and security engineer in me says that's terrifying," Blaze told The Intercept.
On the other hand, Facebook spokesman Jay Nancarrow said in an email sent to The Intercept that they had no evidence whether the QUANTUMHAND operation is true.
