New classified NSA documents leaked by Snowden show the two secret intelligence agencies (UK's GCHQ and US's NSA) trying to find weaknesses in products security, in order to do their work unnoticed.
The files were published yesterday by Intercept, focusing mainly on the challenges facing the UK GCHQ in attempts to exploit computer networks in targets protected by Kaspersky products.
To overcome these problems, GCHQ requested on June 13, 2008, a warrant that would allow software reverse engineering (SRE) of commercial security products to find ways to circumvent the detection of spyware. Those who didn't understand asked for a warrant to "break" Kaspersky's products. These warrants are valid for a period of six months.
“Personal security products such as Russian anti-virus software Kaspersky continue to challenge the capability of GCHQ, CNE [Computer Network Exploitation] and SRE departments and are essential for us to be able to exploit the software to prevent our activities from being detected,” the warrant renewal application states.
Kaspersky was the only vendor the intelligence agency mentioned, but their list contains products from 23 other companies, including: Bitdefender, AVG, F-Secure, Dr Web, Avira, Arcabit, ESET, Emsisoft, Avast and Checkpoint.
This tactic has allowed NSAs and GCQs not only to know the capabilities of detecting security tools but to redirect them to malicious software or to track through them their targets.
Cisco was also one of the companies referred to in the warrant as secret services were asking permission to break the router of the company.
Let's recall that Kaspersky recently revealed a very complex attack on its networks, and as the company said, behind there was some government.
In a press conference in London, Eugene Kaspersky, Chief Executive Officer of the company, did not name the government but released many interesting facts.
