Leaked NSA Dump Also Contains Tools Agency Used to Track Other Hackers

[Faybert]

A years ago when the mysterious hacking group 'The Shadow Brokers' dumped a massive trove of sensitive data stolen from the US intelligence agency NSA, everyone started looking for secret hacking tools and zero-day exploits.

A group of Hungarian security researchers from CrySyS Lab and Ukatemi has now revealed that the NSA dump doesn't just contain zero-day exploits used to take control of targeted systems, but also include a collection of scripts and scanning tools the agency uses to track operations of hackers from other countries.

According to a report published today by the Intercept, NSA's specialized team known as Territorial Dispute(TeDi) developed some scripts and scanning tools that help the agency to detect other nation-state hackers on the targeted machines it infects.

NSA hackers used these tools to scan targeted systems for 'indicators of compromise' (IoC) in order to protect its own operations from getting exposed, as well as to find out what foreign threat actors are stealing and which hacking techniques they are using.
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[Aleeyen]

It seems that NSA itself is the biggest hacker around. Also, they are trying desperately to stop users from using good security apps like Kaspersky so that they can do their work without any hindrance.

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

It seems that NSA itself is the biggest hacker around. Also, they are trying desperately to stop users from using good security apps like Kaspersky so that they can do their work without any hindrance.

This is even more relevant after my warning to OSArmor developer about securing his systems and encrypting his code. It's guaranteed he will come under close scrutiny and even TAO for his product, especially if it impedes functionality of ANY of their tools... In fact, I'd place hard currency on that bet.

Also this says "scanning tools the agency uses to track operations of hackers from other countries", not just from other countries....

White/Black Hat hackers are generally considered monitored. Not only that, legitimate security engineers are often targets. They don't want to follow legal channels to find out new techniques and technologies, they'd rather hack in and find out for themselves so questions aren't raised. Also, in some cases, they aren't legally permitted to even conduct such operations so having an agency restricted from operating on US Soil ask questions would raise red flags.. So hence.. Not just hackers, but security pros are also under careful gaze..

 

[oleg sidorenko]

It seems that NSA itself is the biggest hacker around. Also, they are trying desperately to stop users from using good security apps like Kaspersky so that they can do their work without any hindrance.

That's right, the NSA is going to invest their limited human resources in hacking average joes like you, because you're very important.

 

[Aleeyen]

That's right, the NSA is going to invest their limited human resources in hacking average joes like you, because you're very important.

Yes, I'm more important than the Pres. of USA, Russia and the UN Gen. Sec.

 

[Entreri]

That's right, the NSA is going to invest their limited human resources in hacking average joes like you, because you're very important.

He could be.

Understand these are government workers prone to numerous mistakes and laziness. If these were elite of the elite, they would be working for the US tech titans and earning millions or billions.

 

[DeepWeb]

I would demand a refund on my tax money if they weren't the best hackers on this planet. Otherwise what am I paying taxes for? But this dump is from years ago and still so impressive. They probably have even better tools now and all it reveals is that the NSA is quietly tracking what other malicious hackers are doing to figure out what their intentions are and where they are going. That's the type of work I want to see with my tax money. Not sure what's bad about this.