GENESIS: NSA Exploit of the Day
Today’s item from the NSA’s Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group implant catalog:
GENESIS
(S//SI//REL) Commercial GSM handset that has been modified to include a Software Defined Radio (SDR) and additional system memory. The internal SDR allows a witting user to covertly perform network surveys, record RF spectrum, or perform handset location in hostile environments.
(S//SI//REL) The GENESIS systems are designed to support covert operations in hostile environments. A witting user would be able to survey the local environment with the spectrum analyzer tool, select spectrum of interest to record, and download the spectrum information via the integrated Ethernet to a laptop controller. The GENESIS system could also be used, in conjunction with an active interrogator, as the finishing tool when performing Find/Fix/Finish operations in unconventional environments.
(S//SI//REL) Features:
- Concealed SDR with Handset Menu Interface
- Spectrum Analyzer Capability
- Find/Fix/Finish Capability
- Integrated Ethernet
- External Antenna Port
- Internal 16 GB of storage
- Multiple Integrated Antennas
(S//SI//REL) Future Enhancements:
- 3G Handset Host Platform
- Additional Host Platforms
- Increased Memory Capacity
- Additional Find/Fix/Finish Capabilities
- Active Interrogation Capabilities
Status: Current GENESIS platform available. Future platforms available when developments are completed.
Unit Cost: $15K
Page, with graphics, is here. General information about TAO and the catalog is here.
In the comments, feel free to discuss how the exploit works, how we might detect it, how it has probably been improved since the catalog entry in 2008, and so on.
epic_butthurt • February 27, 2014 3:05 PM
Yahoo webcam images from millions of users intercepted by GCHQ
• Optic Nerve program collected Yahoo webcam images in bulk
• 1.8m users targeted by UK agency in six-month period alone
• Yahoo: ‘A whole new level of violation of our users’ privacy’
• Material included large quantity of sexually explicit images
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/gchq-nsa-webcam-images-internet-yahoo