The German news magazine Der Spiegel has released another story based on documents from fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden claiming the National Security Agency has a unit dedicated to hacking “tough” systems.
Systems like the Microsoft automatic software reporting system installed on every Windows based computer in the world.
The division is called Tailored Access Operations or TAO. The team is described as “an elite team of hackers” that specialize in stealing data from targets that the NSA defines as the toughest to crack.
The TAO’s mission was “Getting the Ungettable.”
The group reportedly had “James Bond-like” equipment to complete missions such as computer monitor cables that would record anything typed on a screen, USB sticks with micro radio transmitters and fake base stations that would intercept mobile phone signals.
Microsoft said they do not supply information to intelligence sources and did not comment on the leaked document’s claim the NSA hacked the company’s reporting system.
A study funded by Microsoft has discovered many new computers with malware that was installed at the factory allowing cybercriminals the opportunity to steal information from a computer from its first use.
