How NSA access was built into Windows

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How NSA access was built into Windows

Digglicious Blog

A CARELESS mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency have been secretly built into Windows. The NSA access system is built into every version of the Windows operating system now in use, except early releases of Windows 95 (and its predecessors). The discovery comes close on the heels of the revelations earlier this year that another US software giant, Lotus, had built an NSA "help information" [local] trapdoor into its Notes system, and that security functions on other software systems had been deliberately crippled.

The first discovery of the new NSA access system was made two years ago by British researcher Dr Nicko van Someren. But it was only a few weeks ago when a second researcher rediscovered the access system. With it, he found the evidence linking it to NSA.

Computer security specialists have been aware for two years that unusual features are contained inside a standard Windows software "driver" used for security and encryption functions. The driver, called ADVAPI.DLL, enables and controls a range of security functions. If you use Windows, you will find it in the C:\Windows\system directory of your computer.

ADVAPI.DLL works closely with Microsoft Internet Explorer, but will only run crypographic functions that the US governments allows Microsoft to export. That information is bad enough news, from a European point of view. Now, it turns out that ADVAPI will run special programmes inserted and controlled by NSA. As yet, no-one knows what these programmes are, or what they do.

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NSA, Microsoft Worked Together on Windows Vista Security

CIO




The U.S. agency best known for eavesdropping on telephone calls had a hand in the development of Microsoft’s Vista operating system, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday.

The National Security Agency (NSA) stepped in to help Microsoft develop a configuration of its next-generation operating system that would meet U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) requirements, said NSA spokesman Ken White.

This is not the first time the secretive agency has been brought in to consult private industry on operating system security, White said, but it is the first time the NSA has worked with a vendor prior to the release of an operating system.

By getting involved early in the process, the NSA helped Microsoft ensure that it was delivering a product that was both secure and compatible with existing government software, he said.

"This allows us to ensure that the off-the-shelf security configuration that the DoD customer receives is at a level that meets our standards," White said. "It just makes a lot more sense to be involved up front than it does to have the tail wag the dog."

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[theflaco]

In this thread is year 1999:

Kinda old news?
Did Digglicious forget that?
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/pi...er/045047.html
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/pi...ead.html#45046

[JackSpratts]

Originally Posted by theflaco

In this thread is year 1999:

Did Digglicious forget that?

that's an interesting question in general for digg in that reposts of very old stories occur frequently, and new stories about old situations are posted uncritically. my take is that digg users are generally too young to have experienced them the first time around - even if it was just a few years ago, and that digg itself is too new to have developed anything in the way of an institutional memory.

i like digg as far as it goes and i visit daily but that's not to say it can't stand improvement, beginning with the creepy sensation i often get that i've stumbled into an online version of the lord of the flies.

- js.

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the first story might be revisit to 1999 ... but the second story isn't so much
add first story to second story

maybe title should be ' NSA and future of windows '

[RDixon]

Originally Posted by JackSpratts

beginning with the creepy sensation i often get that i've stumbled into an online version of the lord of the flies. - js.

Glad to know I'm not the only one.
I quit visiting digg because of that.
reddit is much better for me, especially with the quality of the comments there.

as for MS including government spyware; that should not be a surprise to anyone.