The National Security Agency (NSA) developed automated systems to hack into computers around the globe with targets not restricted to suspects, the Intercept reported Wednesday, basing its information on Edward Snowden leaks.
The report describes NSA's network of malware implants as capable of siphoning data from target hard drives and infiltrating foreign internet and phone networks. The malware was implanted through spam mails or by posing as a facebook server, the report said. It also explained that the malware can covertly record audio through the computer's microphone in addition to capturing pictures with webcams. NSA could use the implants to disrupt download processes and deny website access.
Human operators could infect hundreds of systems, usually targets in hard-to-reach locations where conventional wire-tapping was not possible. In contrast, the automated system 'Turbine' designed by NSA could be scaled to millions of implants, targeting groups of computers in an automated manner, the Intercept's analysis of Snowden's documents shows.
"The automated system - codenamed TURBINE - is designed to allow the current implant network to scale to large size (millions of implants) by creating a system that does automated control implants by groups instead of individually," Intercept reported.
When the Intercept contacted NSA, it declined to comment on the implants. Instead it said in a statement, "As the president made clear on 17 January signals intelligence shall be collected exclusively where there is a foreign intelligence or counterintelligence purpose to support national and departmental missions, and not for any other purposes."
Intercept's analysis of Snowden documents reportedly showed that NSA's hacking efforts were being carried out from the agency's Fort Meade headquarters with surveillance assistance from bases in UK and Japan.
"GCHQ, the British intelligence agency, appears to have played an integral role in helping to develop the implants tactic," the report added, though it did not mention how many computers were affected.
