German Intelligence Caught Red-Handed In Computer Spying, Analysis

Via DarkReading.com -

According to German Web site Der Spiegel, the German foreign intelligence agency BND has supposedly been spying on computer systems around the world in the past couple of years.

Everyone does it. Why not governments?

Apparently, BND has been copying hard drives and installing key loggers (Trojan horse software that can steal everything you type -- or do -- on your computer, reporting back to its operators). This brings up security concerns for us and our organizations, as well as for the BND.

With the marked increase in computer usage in the past two decades, and with more information sources and communication channels moving to the Internet, intelligence gathering has been adapting accordingly, which should not be a surprise to any of us. The BND is not different; it was simply "caught," compromised by leaks to the press.

In this article we will on the one hand cover what happened and Germany's reaction. And on the other hand, we'll look at how such attacks work, with background information on the scope of targeted attacks as they are known today (touching on information warfare) and a few pointers on what we can do to defend our organizations.