March 2017 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

WikiLeaks says CIA hacking unit cracked smartphones and TVs worldwide
by Razer 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

“These techniques permit the CIA to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, Confide and Cloackman(sic) by hacking the smartphones that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic before encryption is applied,” McClatchy: > The CIA has built up a formidable hacking division that has amassed > ways to control smartphones worldwide and turn on the microphones in > Samsung smart televisions, WikiLeaks said Tuesday. > > WikiLeaks released <https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/> what it said were > 8,761 documents taken from the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence in > Langley, Virginia, in what it described as “the largest intelligence > publication in history.” > > The documents indicate that the CIA has collected “more than a > thousand hacking systems, trojans, viruses and other ‘weaponized’ > malware” that allow the agency to overcome encryption and seize > control of devices from the biggest tech firms worldwide, including > Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung. It said the CIA had purposefully > withheld information from the manufacturers about the vulnerabilities > in their systems, undermining a promise offered by former President > Barack Obama to the high-tech industry. > > A CIA spokesman declined to say whether the purported leak was real. > > “We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported > intelligence documents,” spokesman Jonathan Liu said. > > The WikiLeaks documents, which it said span a period from 2013 to > 2016, reveal an arsenal of malware and dozens of “zero day” exploits > against a wide range of products, including Apple’s iPhone, Google’s > Android, Microsoft’s Windows and even Samsung smart televisions, which > are turned into covert microphones. > > Some of the tools would allow the CIA to hack and control popular > smartphones, including the iPhone, giving remote operators access to > the phone’s location and its audio and text communications, and > permitting covert activation of the camera and microphone. > > While iPhones compose only 14.5 percent of the global smartphone > market, WikiLeaks said the focus on Apple’s iOS operating system “may > be explained by the popularity of the iPhone among social, political, > diplomatic and business elites.” > > The documents indicate that the CIA controlled 24 different > vulnerabilities for Google’s Android operating system, which is used > in 5 out of 6 smartphones worldwide. > > “These techniques permit the CIA to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, > Signal, Telegram, Weibo, Confide and Cloackman by hacking the > smartphones that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic > before encryption is applied,” WikiLeaks said. > > The anti-secrecy organization said it had obtained the documents from > someone associated with the 5,000 hackers in the Center for Cyber > Intelligence who objected to its lack of accountability and > duplication of efforts with the National Security Agency, a rival > intelligence arm. > > “The source wishes to initiate a public debate about the security, > creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyber weapons,” > WikiLeaks said. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article136906453.html

2 1

WikiLeaks Dumps Massive CIA Hacking Program (Vault 7 Part 1)
by grarpamp 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1 https://twitter.com/wikileaks https://file.wikileaks.org/ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13811914 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13810015 https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiLeaks https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/5y0mol https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/5y0e33 https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/5y0cr8 https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/5y0akr "Year Zero" shows that as of 2016 the CIA had 24 "weaponized" Android "zero days" which it has developed itself and obtained from GCHQ, NSA and cyber arms contractors. These techniques permit the CIA to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman by hacking the "smart" phones that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic before encryption is applied. CIA malware targets Windows, OSx, Linux, routers The CIA also runs a very substantial effort to infect and control Microsoft Windows users with its malware. This includes multiple local and remote weaponized "zero days", air gap jumping viruses such as "Hammer Drill" which infects software distributed on CD/DVDs, infectors for removable media such as USBs, systems to hide data in images or in covert disk areas ( "Brutal Kangaroo") and to keep its malware infestations going. Hold on to your kernels mates, we goin for a ride :)

1 0

[FuckBook] A Small Look at How Much Personal Data Facebook Gather About You
by Александр 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

https://dataselfie.it/#/ https://vimeo.com/201178499 Data Selfie is a browser extension that tracks you while you are on Facebook to show you your own data traces and reveal how machine learning algorithms use your data to gain insights about your personality. The tool explores our relationship to the online data we leave behind as a result of media consumption and social networks - the information you share consciously and unconsciously.

1 0

Bitcoin: Early Action and Signaling Towards BU Fork
by grarpamp 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin+btc/ https://medium.com/@johnblocke/there-will-be-no-bitcoin-split-564f1d60a657 https://medium.com/@johnblocke/there-will-be-no-bitcoin-split-part-2-7dc406… https://medium.com/@ViaBTC/miner-guide-how-to-safely-hard-fork-to-bitcoin-u…

1 0

In Praise Of Cash
by grarpamp 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

https://aeon.co/essays/if-plastic-replaces-cash-much-that-is-good-will-be-l… I recently found myself facing a vending machine in a quiet corridor at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. I was due to speak at a conference called ‘Reinvent Money’ but, suffering from jetlag and exhaustion, I was on a search for Coca-Cola. The vending machine had a small digital interface built by a Dutch company called Payter. Printed on it was a sentence: ‘Contactless payment only.’ I touched down my bank card, but rather than dispensing Coke, it beeped a message: ‘Card invalid.’ Not all cards are created equal, even if you can get one – and not everyone can. ... And ask yourself this: do you really want to live in the latter society without the ability to buy drugs? Believe me, you’ll need something to dull the existential pain. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13782561 The core concept to remember I think is that there are two ways to pay for things: * Ways that involve cash or cash equivalents * Ways where a purchase requires the permission of someone else Just think of the word authorization, which is a required element of essentially all non-cash transactions. It has the word authority embedded right in it. If you're OK with that concept, you are necessarily OK with the idea that someone you have never met and don't control has the ability to stop you from using your funds in the way you'd like to at any time. A cashless society is, at a fundamental level, not free.

2 2

IBM: Now at 50 Qubits and Beyond
by grarpamp 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

https://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2017/03/ibm-q-50-qubit-quantum-computer/ IBM will build and sell commercial 50-qubit universal quantum computers, dubbed IBM Q, "in the next few years." No word on pricing just yet, but I wouldn't expect much change from $15 million -- the cost of a non-universal D-Wave quantum computer. In other news, IBM has also opened up an API (sample code available on Github) that gives developers easier access to the five-qubit quantum computer currently connected to the IBM cloud. Later in the year, IBM will release a full SDK, further simplifying the process of building quantum software. You can't actually do much useful computation with five qubits, mind you, but fortunately IBM also has news there: the company's quantum simulator can now simulate up to 20 qubits. The idea is that developers should start thinking about potential 20-qubit quantum scenarios now, so they're ready to be deployed when IBM builds the actual hardware.

2 1

Coast To Coast On A Piece Of Toast
by grarpamp 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Coast to Coast... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzifVUO_ebw And freedom of movement around the world... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pRig-k5Vs Don't Forget, Travel Safely... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1RKw5Vx2Hs

1 0

Anarchapulco Presentation
by jim bell 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Went very well. My speech will probably be posted on their website in a few days. Jim Bell

5 6

Stronger Anonymity In Next Generation Internet Routing
by grarpamp 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Dovetail: Stronger Anonymity in Next-Generation … https://www.petsymposium.org/2014/papers/Sankey.pdf PHI: Path-Hidden Lightweight Anonymity Protocol at Network Layer https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/popets.2017.2017.issue-1/popets-201… LAP: Lightweight Anonymity and Privacy http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~xia/resources/Documents/LAP-oakland12.pdf https://petsymposium.org/2017/paperlist.php https://www.freehaven.net/anonbib/

1 0

Switching To Nixies
by grarpamp 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

https://www.fictiv.com/blog/posts/nintendo-switch-teardown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA

2 1