Windows error messages let NSA spy on people: Crash reports are a
'neat way' of gaining access to machines, claims report
- Computer users might be sending reports to the NSA when they
think they are sending them to Microsoft, according to a report by
Der Spiegel
- The crash reports are a ‘neat way’ of
gaining ‘passive access' to a computer, according to an NSA
presentation obtained by the magazine
- But a Microsoft spokesman said the company does not provide
any government with direct or unfettered access to our customer's
data
By
Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 06:39
EST, 31 December 2013 |
UPDATED: 06:53 EST, 31 December 2013
Error messages that pop up on Windows
computers could enable the National Security Agency to spy on PC users,
according to a report.
The error messages appear when a
Windows programme stops working or 'freezes' and a computer user can
choose to send an error report to Microsoft to highlight the problem,
which is designed to help Microsoft engineers improve their products and
fix bugs.
However, conscientious computer users
might be sending reports to the NSA as well as the tech giant, a report
by German magazine Der Spiegel suggests.
Error messages that pop up on Windows
computers could enable the National Security Agency to spy on PC
users, according to a report. The error messages appear when a
Windows programme stops working or freezes and a computer user can
choose to send an error report to Microsoft to highlight the problem
News that the reports are being sent
to the controversial organisation’s top hacking unit, the Tailored
Access Operations (TAO) division, come from the latest leaked documents
from Edward Snowden,
The Huffington Post reported.
The crash reports are a ‘neat way’ of
gaining ‘passive access' to a computer, according to an NSA presentation
obtained by Der Spiegel.
Conscientious computer users might be
sending reports to the NSA as well as Microsoft after a programme
has crashed, a report suggests
Official hackers can reportedly pick
out interesting error message reports using powerful software, which
could tell the NSA about the vulnerabilities of a certain computer.
Computer security expert, Graham
Clueley, told MailOnline that any possible snooping is not limited to
U.S. citizens and could affect Britons, as the NSA is largely interested
in spying on people outside the country.
'It's yet another method that could
find weaknesses in a computer, which they could exploit,' he said.
While there is no evidence to suggest
that British intelligence agencies are using the same technique, Mr
Clueley said it 'would not be a massive shock' if it was later
discovered that they were, as the NSA and GCHQ have used a variety of
similar methods to snoop on people in the past.
A graphic within the presentation
hints that NSA agents made fun of how easy the error message trick made
their jobs.
Designed to look just like a genuine
Microsoft error report popup, it says: ‘A log of this error has been
created. Please tell Microsoft about this problem. This information may
be intercepted by a foreign SIGINT system to gather detailed information
and better exploit your machine.’
Microsoft has been in the spotlight
since July when Mr Snowden began his leaks, including that the tech
giant might have given the NSA access to customers’ encrypted messages
as well as data.
The company has recently tried to
allay customer fears by obstructing U.S. agencies’ bids to access
Microsoft’s foreign customers’ data.
A Microsoft spokesman told The
Huffington Post: ‘Microsoft does not provide any government with direct
or unfettered access to our customer's data.
‘We would have significant concerns
if the allegations about government actions are true.'
News that the reports are being sent to the
controversial organisation's top hacking unit, the Tailored Access
Operations division, are thought to have come from the latest leaked
documents from Edward Snowden (pictured)
NSA WHISTLEBLOWER EDWARD SNOWDEN WARNS OF THE
DANGERS POSED BY LOSS OF PRIVACY
Former US National Security
Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed details of
electronic surveillance by American and British spy services,
warned of the dangers posed by a loss of privacy in a Channel
4's 'Alternative Christmas Message'.
In a two-minute video
recorded in Moscow, where Snowden has been granted temporary
asylum, he spoke of concerns over surveillance in an age of huge
technological advancement.
'We have sensors in our
pockets that track us everywhere we go. Think about what this
means for the privacy of the average person,' he said.
'A child born today will grow
up with no conception of privacy at all,' said Snowden.
'They'll never know what it
means to have a private moment to themselves, an unrecorded,
unanalysed thought. And that's a problem because privacy
matters, privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and
who we want to be.'
The 'Alternative Christmas
Message', broadcast annually on Channel 4 television since 1993,
mimics the format of the yearly address to the nation by Queen
Elizabeth.
On Tuesday, Snowden - who
disclosed thousands of confidential documents - said in an
interview published in the Washington Post that he had achieved
what he set out to do.
'For me, in terms of personal
satisfaction, the mission's already accomplished,' he said.
Last week a White
House-appointed panel proposed curbs on some key NSA
surveillance operations, recommending limits on a programme to
collect records of billions of telephone calls, and new tests
before Washington spies on foreign leaders.
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