It seems that the mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency (NSA) was only the beginning. The agency is already preparing for future cyber wars, where the key to victory will be control of the internet and adversary networks. At least that's what new documents released by Edward Snowden reveal.
The NSA's purpose is to be able to paralyze the computer networks of any enemy through the World Wide Web
The purpose of the NSA, the magazine "Der Spiegel" by examining secret files, is to be able to paralyze the computer of each enemy through the World Wide Web, as well as all the infrastructure controlled through these networks: energy and water supplies, factories, airports, banking systems, etc.
The German magazine emphasizes that international conventions regulating the use of the new digital weapons of the 21st century are almost non-existent, and that the only law that applies in the field is "survival of the fittest.".
The NSA's mass surveillance was "Phase 0" of the US digital warfare strategy, according to the leaked documents. Its intention was to identify vulnerabilities in enemy systems so that they could infiltrate them with "stealthy implants" that would allow "permanent access.".
US authorities are investing heavily in preparations for the upcoming cyber warfare
Phase 3, codenamed “Dominate,” allows the US agency to “control/destroy critical systems and networks at will via pre-defined accesses (based on Phase 0).” According to internal documents, Der Spiegel writes, the NSA is “controlled escalation in real time.”
Meanwhile, a presentation by the spy agency, seen by German journalists, predicts that “the next great conflict will begin in cyberspace.” That is why US authorities are investing large sums in preparations for the impending online hostilities.
In its 2013 intelligence budget, the NSA estimated that about $1 billion would be needed to bolster operations against computer networks.
In recent years, cybersecurity experts have attributed a number of malware attacks to the NSA and the Five Eyes alliance (the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). Such malware has been used in a variety of attacks – most notably the hacking of the Iranian nuclear program (Stuxnet) and the wiretapping of Chancellor Merkel’s phone calls.
Edward Snowden, 31, is wanted in the US as a spy for leaking or stealing NSA and US government material. Since June 2013 – when Russia granted him asylum – he has revealed the NSA's invasive mass surveillance practices in the US and the rest of the world, as well as many other intelligence secrets.
France: Islamist hackers took down 20,000 websites – Armed forces knew
Thousands of news websites went down in France on Friday, a day after warnings of a wave of Islamist cyberattacks. According to the French government, 20,000 websites were targeted after the terrorist attacks in Paris that left 17 people dead. Le Parisien, Marianne, 20 Minutes, L'Express, Mediapart, France Info, France Inter, Slate and ZDNet were among the targets, but they were restored relatively quickly.
On Thursday, the head of cybersecurity for the French armed forces, Rear Admiral Arnaud Coustiger, spoke of cyberattacks by "structured" groups and "known Islamist hackers," without providing further details.
For its part, Oxalide, the company responsible for hosting the websites, told the BBC that it was conducting an investigation in all directions, but ruled out the possibility of an external distributed denial of service attack (DDoS attack).
In a statement later on Friday, it reiterated the above, noting that the problem began to be gradually restored 90 minutes after the incident, while at the same time defending its expertise and high-level services. Distributed denial-of-service attacks involve flooding servers with requests to access a website, a tactic that causes it to collapse.
High goals and high demand
The cyberattacks are seen as retaliation for the large solidarity march at "Charlie Hebdo" last Sunday in Paris
Rear Admiral Coustiger sees the cyberattacks as retaliation for the large solidarity march at Charlie Hebdo last Sunday in Paris. According to the Agence France-Presse, he attributed the responsibility to "people who do not share certain values", such as those expressed by the same march.
Coustiger added that the first wave of cyberattacks targeted military units and that the country's Defense Ministry had decided to increase security vigilance. The news of the cyberattacks coincided with the announcement that Charlie Hebdo was releasing its final issue – following the bloody attack on its offices – as a smartphone app.
For the print edition, however, the BBC points out that British readers had been forming queues since Friday morning, the day the magazine was released in the United Kingdom.
Source: zougla.gr
