Back in 2018, we learned that covert system of websites that the CIA used for communications was compromised by—at least—China and Iran, and that the blunder caused a bunch of arrests, imprisonments, and executions. We’re now learning that the CIA is still “using an irresponsibly secured system for asset communication.”
Citizen Lab did the research:
Using only a single website, as well as publicly available material such as historical internet scanning results and the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, we identified a network of 885 websites and have high confidence that the United States (US) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used these sites for covert communication.
The websites included similar Java, JavaScript, Adobe Flash, and CGI artifacts that implemented or apparently loaded covert communications apps. In addition, blocks of sequential IP addresses registered to apparently fictitious US companies were used to host some of the websites. All of these flaws would have facilitated discovery by hostile parties.
[…]
The bulk of the websites that we discovered were active at various periods between 2004 and 2013. We do not believe that the CIA has recently used this communications infrastructure. Nevertheless, a subset of the websites are linked to individuals who may be former and possibly still active intelligence community employees or assets:
Several are currently abroad
Another left mainland China in the timeframe of the Chinese crackdown
Another was subsequently employed by the US State Department
Another now works at a foreign intelligence contractor
Citizen Lab is not publishing details, of course.
When I was a kid, I thought a lot about being a spy. And this, right here, was the one thing I worried about. It didn’t matter how clever and resourceful I was. If my handlers were incompetent, I was dead.
Another news article.
More Stories
ICO Warns of Mobile Phone Festive Privacy Snafu
The Information Commissioner’s Office has warned that millions of Brits don’t know how to erase personal data from their old...
Friday Squid Blogging: Squid Sticker
A sticker for your water bottle. Blog moderation policy. Read More
Italy’s Data Protection Watchdog Issues €15m Fine to OpenAI Over ChatGPT Probe
OpenAI must also initiate a six-month public awareness campaign across Italian media, explaining how it processes personal data for AI...
Ukraine’s Security Service Probes GRU-Linked Cyber-Attack on State Registers
The Security Service of Ukraine has accused Russian-linked actors of perpetrating a cyber-attack against the state registers of Ukraine Read...
LockBit Admins Tease a New Ransomware Version
The LockBitSupp persona said LockBit 4.0 will be launched in February 2025 Read More
Webcams and DVRs Vulnerable to HiatusRAT, FBI Warns
The FBI has issued a warning about the Hiatus RAT malware targeting Xiongmai and Hikvision web cameras and DVRs, urging...