Wake Up Already America!!! NSA Built Back Door In ALL Windows Software by 1999---Long BEFORE 9/11

[kpete]

We have repeatedly pointed out that widespread spying on Americans began prior to 9/11.

NSA Built Back Door In All Windows Software by 1999
Posted on June 7, 2013 by WashingtonsBlog
Government Built Spy-Access Into Most Popular Consumer Program Before 9/11


Digging a little further, we found a 1999 article by leading European computer publication Heise which noted that the NSA had already built a backdoor into all Windows software:

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” trapdoor into its Notes system, and that security functions on other software systems had been deliberately crippled.

........................

A third key?!


But according to two witnesses attending the conference, even Microsoft’s top crypto programmers were astonished to learn that the version of ADVAPI.DLL shipping with Windows 2000 contains not two, but three keys. Brian LaMachia, head of CAPI development at Microsoft was “stunned” to learn of these discoveries, by outsiders. The latest discovery by Dr van Someren is based on advanced search methods which test and report on the “entropy” of programming code.

Within the Microsoft organisation, access to Windows source code is said to be highly compartmentalized, making it easy for modifications to be inserted without the knowledge of even the respective product managers.

Researchers are divided about whether the NSA key could be intended to let US government users of Windows run classified cryptosystems on their machines or whether it is intended to open up anyone’s and everyone’s Windows computer to intelligence gathering techniques deployed by NSA’s burgeoning corps of “information warriors”.

According to Fernandez of Cryptonym, the result of having the secret key inside your Windows operating system “is that it is tremendously easier for the NSA to load unauthorized security services on all copies of Microsoft Windows, and once these security services are loaded, they can effectively compromise your entire operating system“. The NSA key is contained inside all versions of Windows from Windows 95 OSR2 onwards.

***





MORE:
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/06/microsoft-programmed-in-nsa-backdoor-in-windows-by-1999.html

[think]

1. Did not know this.

Yet it doesn't surprise me....

[L0oniX]

13. With Winsux 95 and 98 everyones box without a firewall was open to the public.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. And I guarantee the NSA...

can get through the firewalls.

[L0oniX]

54. You can DOS a weak firewall and crash it. Same with a weak router.

[Egalitarian Thug]

53. Even with one back in the day since so few had any idea how to configure a hardware firewall,

software firewalls were almost as full of holes as M$ crapware, and windoze opened all ports by default.

Oh, the times we had...

[L0oniX]

55. Port scanners were fun. Old school IRC days. Telnet wide open. Port sniffers.

[Eddie Haskell]

35. If only they'd had Bin Ladens number.

[Octafish]

42. They did, on Zacarias Mousaoui's laptop.

But that was the ONE person whose civil rights they respected, for some reason.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x757860

What a coincidence.

[Eddie Haskell]

56. Yep, what a coincidence.

Mr Maltbie told him that getting a warrant, which could be troublesome, might harm his — Maltbie’s — career prospects.

Mr Maltbie has since been promoted.

[Recursion]

44. A key doesn't allow other people to alter your OS, it allows your OS to run other software

The "alternate" explanation (it lets Windows run classified software) is the only one that makes any technical sense.

[notadmblnd]

2. Thanks Kpete

I wrote that in a post a couple of days ago and one poster didn't believe me. Everytime I read something on this subject, I think of the PROMIS software that was developed in the 70's. This spying has been going on for a very long time government and corporate wise. Now that is being done on an individual level should be no surprise to anyone.

[randome]

3. You don't "...load unauthorized security services..." without files of some sort.

At the very least, changes to your system to redirect all your input and output. Someone would have noticed. There are some very determined programmers out there.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[nebenaube]

24. You are naive. n/t

[RKP5637]

50. +1, n/t

[DinahMoeHum]

4. Like I've said before, that horse done left the barn a long time ago.

[Octafish]

5. Yeah, and we got dismissed as 'Conspiracy Theorists' when pointing it out.

Inslaw/PROMIS

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x196360

[DJ13]

6. Take it a step further with the upcoming XBox One with its Kinect camera/microphone

With its built in facial recognition tech.

Coming soon.

[L0oniX]

10. Does it have fecal recognitian ...because it's going to get shit on!

[longship]

27. DUzy nt

[MineralMan]

7. And that's likely to just be the beginning.

I suspect that there are backdoors in almost everything, including publicly available encryption tools. The "secret key" is likely to be in just about everything. Who holds it is important.

Be careful with your vote.

GOTV 2014 and Beyond!

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. Linux...still safe, I presume.

[MineralMan]

36. I have no knowledge of Linux at all, so I have no idea.

I know it's more or less an open OS, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

[MineralMan]

37. Actually, if I was looking for a place to put a backdoor,

it would be in the bios.

[Recursion]

46. UEFI (nt)

[Recursion]

45. Well, the NSA very publicly added code to the stock Linux kernel

The system is called SELinux, and among other things allows Linux to run secure classified software.

[dixiegrrrrl]

48. ty for that info.

[L0oniX]

8. Fear my BSD box ...National Snooping Assholes!

[cliffordu]

11. Free, Net or Open??

[L0oniX]

12. Grub selections: Ubuntu, FreeBSD and Debain

[cliffordu]

14. Excellent!

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. That's what we are using, says Mr.Dixie

who INSISTED on the switch over a few years ago.
Glad I listened to him.

[timdog44]

9. For me

this is another reason to hate that asshat Bill Gates. A wolf in sheeps clothing. And an outsourcing prick to boot. Sorry for the language but I really don't like Bill Gates.

[juajen]

19. I'm with you.

Ever since I read about the Microsoft Extension in Vancouver (?) with an entire Indian village inside, complete with all things needed by them from home, I have been furious. We made Microsoft, and now they outsource our jobs blatantly. I don't care how much money they give away, they wouldn't have it if America hadn't built it. It's bullshit to say that we cannot compete and that there aren't Americans that can do those jobs. How can we use our computers and not use Microsoft? I don't know. I am just not savvy enough computer wise to get around them. I do use Mozilla. Is there anything else I can do?

[timdog44]

21. Short of building your own,

but you would still need to use, for all practical purposes a Microsoft product of some kind.

And I don't think Apple/Mac are any better for outsourcing and dodging their tax responsibilities.

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. How can we use our computers and not use Microsoft?

Linux....
get Linux for Dummies and began your freedom!!!!
Or have someone put Linux on your machine and then start to use it..it is pretty intuitive.
If I can learn to use it, you can.
Faster, easier, tons more stable than Windows.

[L0oniX]

23. +1 ...Open Office or Libre Office is good enough for most people.

[RKP5637]

51. Ubuntu is sooo easy to install!!! n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

33. Not to defend Gates...

But if you are connected to the Internet they can see and track you. No platform is safe.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. Then they have no excuse for sitting idle and accepting a stolen election.

Nor do they have an excuse for 9/11.

[nebenaube]

29. ding, ding, ding!

sucks to see through the veil sometimes.

[awoke_in_2003]

34. LIHOP...

Lots of profit in war.

[Gore1FL]

16. Not trusting the blog.

Among other things, it links to World Net Daily.

[xtraxritical]

17. Suprise, suprise! Ever wonder how all those updates (like java and adobe etc.) get into

your computer unasked for?

[iamthebandfanman]

25. actually

when you install those programs it asks you how youd like to have your program updated...
automatically (default)..
with notification..
or no action.


:p

maybe pay more attention during installation?

[Posteritatis]

32. *facepalm* (nt)

[xtraxritical]

57. Yes, the polite programs "ask" do you think they must? You Inet connection is wide open.

[villager]

26. It's been inexcusable for a long time. Glad people are finally paying attention to it.

n/t

[iamthebandfanman]

28. just not true. sorry.

this has been a rumor for over a decade..
infact anti-virus software makers had to address it back in the day because the government came to them and asked them to not make software to detect any backdoor they wished to put on PCs... Symantec , makers of Norton, was the first to give a big middle finger to that idea.. and nothing ever came from it..

its not in the interest of a software maker to intentionally leave backdoors, let alone multiple ones, in standard end users systems. you are making your product faulty and open to attack beyond whomever the door was left for..

Microsoft actually had to address this issue AGAIN (for the 4th time) with the release of windows 7:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141182/Microsoft_denies_it_built_backdoor_in_Windows_7

[ProSense]

38. Here's something

"just not true. sorry. this has been a rumor for over a decade.. "

...that's not a rumor:

Meet the Carnivore system
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022972777

[billh58]

47. Don't waste your

time attempting to present actual facts or common sense. A good conspiracy theory is almost indestructible, especially when there's already rumors of blood in the water...

[ThoughtCriminal]

30. Windows has security issues?

If hackers ever find out, there are going to all kinds of problems.

[wandy]

39. And the NSA will happily use that intentional that back-door in windows............

That is if the system isn't already hijacked by one of the many, MANY unintentional back-doors Microsoft ,Left in windows.

Do da name KBR**** Security Update for Microsoft .................
mean anything to ya?

And in all fairness NO Operating is safe. Just because a back-door is unintentional does not mean it is unknown and suitable for every day NSA use.

[CarmanK]

40. And that is why US is so easily hacked by China et al.. We opened the door with privatizers!

[Recursion]

41. Well, first off, that's not how keys work

Given the fundamental problem there, it's hard to know what to do with the rest of that article.

[eggplant]

43. Thank you.

Now, can we all stop clutching our pearls?

The idea that Microsoft had to "build in" special access for secret spying is simply absurd and shows a complete lack of understanding about how an OS works, as well as how crypto works (and what it is used for).

[kestrel91316]

49. I have suspected for years that my computer is following outside directions at times.

I can be sitting, working on a word document or simply reading a plain forum page like this and the hard drive starts whirring madly and goes on for a while.

It's not downloading or installing (that I can tell), it's not doing any scheduled tasks (I know the schedule), it's just very busy doing...........something...........for somebody else, presumably.

[Recursion]

52. Most likely that's paging

Modern operating systems swap data between RAM and hard drive ("virtual memory&quot , and the Windows algorithm for doing that in particular is famous for calling on the hard drive at odd times. Though for that matter the Linux algo isn't always that much better.