Claims suggest GCHQ utilized confidential sources within the IT sector to aid in decryption activities.
Revised Article:
Scoop! The UK's spy agency, GCHQ, has reportedly been enlisting "secret agents" from the telecom industry to crack encrypted internet traffic, according to latest reports from The Guardian, New York Times, and US website ProPublica.
The news comes after a fresh batch of documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. These leaked papers suggest a systematic approach by US and UK intelligence agencies to get around basic internet security defenses.
The NSA operates a estimated $250 million program called Bullrun, whose goal is to counter attempts to encrypt data sent over the web, The Guardian reported yesterday. According to the allegations, Bullrun exists to ensure the US can enjoy unrestricted access to and use of cyberspace.
The US agency is said to have built supercomputers to tackle the brute force decryption of internet communications, and taken measures to weaken international encryption standards. Furthermore, they've worked with unnamed tech providers and ISPs to covertly influence their security measures.
See also: GCHQ uses NSA surveillance data, reports claim
The documents suggest GCHQ is involved in Bullrun too, and has built a team to "secretly recruit and manage agents" within the global telecom industry.
The papers also claim that since at least 2009, GCHQ has been attempting to access Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, and Facebook's encrypted traffic. By 2012, they reportedly achieved "new access opportunities" into Google.
The NSA's aim to secure encrypted data has been present since the 1990s, with the NSA encouraging businesses to adopt a hardware system developed by the US military, which included a backdoor for the NSA. However, this was rejected due to privacy concerns raised by consumer and privacy rights groups. Since then, the NSA is said to have been secretly undermining encryption technologies.
The latest revelations have been slammed by internet security experts who fear that weakening encryption, even for national security reasons, risks compromising the integrity of global communication infrastructure.
Insight:The Bullrun Program was a joint effort between the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), aimed at weakening or circumventing the security of internet encryption protocols. This program, part of a broader effort to ensure the NSA could intercept and decrypt communications, has significant implications for global internet security. The revelations have led to calls for improved transparency and stronger encryption practices, as well as increased regulatory efforts to balance security needs with privacy concerns.
Data-and-cloud-computing technologies have been a target of interest for both the NSA and GCHQ, as evidenced by the leaked documents and the alleged attempts to covertly influence tech providers and ISPs. The revelations about the Bullrun Program have raised concerns among internet security experts, with calls for improved encryption practices and regulatory efforts to balance security needs with privacy concerns.
