Hackers are offering online tools with which US spy world – BBC World

Image copyright AP

Image caption the “hackers” ensure that data and spy tools which went on sale belong to the most important division of the NSA cyber attacks.

In recent years, the National Security Agency US (NSA, for its acronym in English) has been at the point look, accused of having no limits when undertaking its activities.

it was criticized for spying on the United Nations, access to private information of heads of state from around the world and massively collect data of its citizens, as unveiled its exanalista Edward Snowden.

But now it appears that their spy tools have seen the light. Or at least the

screens of many Internet users. And some hackers announced that they were putting up for sale at auction.

Image copyright NSA

Image caption files and tools spying Security Agency United States allegedly auctioned were 2013.

Everything indicates that the spies were spied upon: their accounts appear to have been ” hacked “.

But what was what happened and who was behind the alleged theft?

runners in the shadow

the group behind the “hack”, hitherto unknown, is called “ Shadow Brokers ” ( ” runners in the shadow “).

the hackers said on Twitter that gained access to the networks of the NSA and enter a lot of files Group Equations, the most powerful division agency that has the most “sophisticated techniques” of cyber espionage, as announced in 2015 a report by security firm Kaspersky.

And then decided to put the tools of “hack” for sale on the Github web platform and on its website Tumblr, and disabled.

Image copyright Tumblr

Image caption Tumblr page where “runners in the shadow” published the information has been cleared. “There’s nothing here,” it reads, in English.

Wikileaks also confirmed that it had all those files, but did not say how it had obtained.

A million bitcoins

in the online auction “hackers” calling one million bitcoins (about US $ 570 million).

“We found many cyber weapons Group equation. Look at the pictures. We offer some of their free files, it is a good test is not it? Enjoy! [...] We’re auctioning off the best files “, said the hackers . Saturday

These documents contained, according to The Hacker News , “ scripts installation, configuration server command and control (C & C ) and exploit (pieces of software) designed to attack firewall American companies as Cisco Systems, Juniper and Fortinet. “

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption There are doubts about how hackers gained access to the files and on the legitimacy of them.

It is still to be seen whether all these documents are legitimate, but some cybersecurity experts think so.

“We have not checked the exploit and we are confident that seem legitimate “, told the Daily Dot Matt Suiche, founder of cybersecurity Comae Technologies, based in UAE.

a “diplomatic issue”

Others, however, say that it is a hoax.

“the authors (of cyber attack) put a lot of effort into this fraud” , said security firm the grugq .

However, Snowden, who he worked in the NSA- believes it was a real attack and that everything indicates that there “Russian responsibility” , which would add tension to the alleged theft of information from computers Democratic Party, also attributed to the Eurasian nation.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Snowden said the course “hack” could be related to Russia.

For Snowden, however, the matter “ is more a matter of diplomacy intelligence” .

“filtration is a warning that someone is able to demonstrate the responsibility of the United States of any attack by malicious software that originated from that server” said exanalista via Twitter.

according to Snowden, the alleged “hacking” NSA “could have important implications for foreign policy (US)” .

the cryptographer Bruce Schneier agrees and says that the fact that the stolen files are dated 2013 is what “makes us think that it is a matter of Russian intelligence.”

The NSA has not yet ruled on the matter. Nor it has the Russian government.