Just in time for Halloween, another blast from the past: That Old Windows Back Door Trick. Now with extra-added crypto-cryptofluffy (once-removed), the obligatory mention of Adi and Nicko, *and* new-improved internet-is-a-weapon-system crunchy goodness... Cheers, RAH One man's former-research-network-(heh)-cum-"commerce-platform" is another's threat to national security, don'tchaknow... --------- <http://novus.liber.us/2007/10/24/russia-orders-%E2%80%98immediate-purge-of-all-windows-computers-as-virus-fears-grow/> novus.liber ; Blog Archive ; Russia Orders 'Immediate' Purge Of All Windows Computers As Virus Fears Grow October 24, 2007 By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers Reports circulating within President Putin's Security Council are stating that a 'redline' of Russias Information Security Doctrine has been crossed and that the 'potential' for massive cyber attacks against the military infrastructure of both the Russian and Chinese Military Forces 'appears' to be imminent. According to these reports, the Security Council's fears are based in one of the most destructive computer viruses ever unleashed upon the World, and as we can read as confirmed by Britain's Guardian Unlimited News Service in their article titled "In millions of Windows, the perfect Storm is gathering", and which says: "A spectre is haunting the net but, outside of techie circles, nobody seems to be talking about it. The threat it represents to our security and wellbeing may be less dramatic than anything posed by global terrorism, but it has the potential to wreak much more havoc. And so far, nobody has come up with a good idea on how to counter it." As freighting as this new, and devastating, computer virus may be, however, and, again, according to these reports, the origination of this 'perfect storm' gathering around the Worlds computer systems appears to have its origination with the United States National Security Agency (NSA), and which has been long known to have installed in the Windows Operating System a 'back door', and as we can read from these American reports: "In a recently-leaked secret memo, written in October 2005, President George Bush authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to "employ all of its tools and skills" to enhance the security of Microsoft Windows XP." "Between Hotmail hacks and browser bugs, Microsoft has a dismal track record in computer security. Most of us accept these minor security flaws and go on with life. But how is an IT manager to feel when they learn that in every copy of Windows sold, Microsoft may have installed a 'back door' for the National Security Agency (NSA - the USA's spy agency) making it orders of magnitude easier for the US government to access their computers? While investigating the security subsystems of WindowsNT4, Cryptonym's Chief Scientist Andrew Fernandes discovered exactly that - a back door for the NSA in every copy of Win95/98/NT4 and Windows2000. Building on the work of Nicko van Someren (NCipher), and Adi Shamir (the 'S' in 'RSA'), Andrew was investigating Microsoft's "CryptoAPI" architecture for security flaws. Since the CryptoAPI is the fundamental building block of cryptographic security in Windows, any flaw in it would open Windows to electronic attack." It is, also, important to remember that the Internet is a creation of the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and as such is considered by both the Russian and Chinese Military to be a 'weapons system' that must be defended against. Though both the Russian and Chinese military structures operate independently of the Internet, preferring for security reasons to employ what are called 'closed systems', the concerns of the Security Council are for the thousands of laptops currently utilized by Military Officers, of both countries, and operating on the Windows system. These reports further state that both Russian and Chinese Military Authorities have ordered an 'immediate' end to use of all computing systems utilizing the Windows operating system for fear of their being infected with this devastating new virus. To the greatest concern, however, of these reports is their stating that the purpose of this new virus currently infecting the World's computer systems is twofold; with the first being the United States ability to enhance it supercomputing power by distributing its workload among, literally, millions of unsuspecting computers, and the second being their ability in the outbreak of Total War to cease all of these computers from functioning. As to the timing of the United States War Leaders unleashing this horrific computer virus upon the World the answer, perhaps, lies in the words of President Bush himself, and as Turkish Military Forces have begun their bombing and invasion of Iraq they are words we should listen to: "United States President George W Bush revealed on October 17 that he's "told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them [Iran] from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon". Man has never before in his bloody history waged preemptive war against the spread of knowledge. The nearest he came was with the Inquisition when he insisted knowledge was heresy. But when Bush warns of preemptive war, it must be taken seriously. With a world war on its doorstep, Turkey is coming under enormous pressure to take sides." -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'