The extremely controversial hack of the US National Security Agency (NSA) which seems to be shadowed in the early stages has resulted in different angles and evidence has mounted. In our quest for truth, credible resources and skilled experts gave their view on the terrifying event.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Security vendor Kaspersky Labs ZAO was the first to identify the NSA-linked operation last year. The files used in the recent hack are believed to possess an unusual mathematical approach it had seen in that operation’s code. Kaspersky nicknamed the operation the Equation Group and has been supporting U.S. interests in cyberspace.
In addition, Shadow Brokers, which claims to have a bigger cache of files it is offering to sell, had recently released a new set of files that appear to be an attack code that targets security software on routers that direct computer traffic around the internet.
“This code similarity makes us believe with a high degree of confidence that the tools from the Shadow Brokers leak are related to the malware from the Equation Group,” Kaspersky added.
On Wednesday, Cisco verified that the Shadow Broker code linked to NSA utilized a high-severity vulnerability that had gone hidden for years in every supported version of the company's Adaptive Security Appliance firewall.
Meanwhile, some security analysts believe that Russia is the mastermind for the said hack despite the lack of proof. "High-level US political officials seemed quite upset about the DNC hacks, which no doubt resulted in a covert response, which this is then likely a counter-response to," former NSA employee Dave Aitel mentioned. "No team of 'hackers' would want to piss off Equation Group this much. That's the kind of cojones that only come from having a nation state protecting you."
Former intelligence worker Edward Snowden also supported the alleged involvement of Russia in the said hack.
"Circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom indicate Russian responsibility. This leak is likely a warning that someone can prove U.S. responsibility for any attacks that originated from this malware server. That could have significant foreign policy consequences. Particularly if any of those operations targeted U.S. allies. Particularly if any of those operations targeted elections."
