The hacking group that leaked NSA secrets claims it has data on foreign nuclear programs – Washington Post

A massive cyberattack hit tens of thousands of computers in dozens of nations. Reports of the attack first surfaced in Britain, where the National Health Service described serious problems. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

The hacking group that leaked the bugs that enabled last week's global ransomware attack is threatening to make public even more computer vulnerabilities in the coming weeks potentially including compromised network data pertaining to the nuclear or missile programs of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as vulnerabilities affecting Windows 10, which is run by millions of computers worldwide.

A spokesperson for the group, which calls itself the Shadow Brokers, claimed in a blog postTuesdaythat some of those computer bugs may be released on a monthly basis as part of a new subscription-based business model that attempts to mimic what has proved successful for companies such as Spotify, Netflix, Blue Apron and many more.

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Is being like wine of month club, readthe blog post, which is written in broken English. "Each month peoples can be paying membership fee, then getting members only data dump each month."

The moveshows the growing commercial sophistication of groups such as the Shadow Brokers, which already has demonstrateda fearsome technical ability to compromise the world's top intelligence agencies. And it underscoresthe waymuch of theunderground trade forcomputer bugs resembles a real-world commercial market.

Security experts have been analyzing the blog post for clues aboutthe Shadow Brokers' intentions and capabilities.

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Marcy Wheeler, a longtime independent researcher, said in a blog post Tuesday that the Shadow Brokers' postbrings the hammer down both on Microsoft, whose products could be affected by any further leaks, and the U.S. National Security Agency, whose information the Shadow Brokers leaked in April. That leakled indirectly to the creation of WannaCry and the subsequent crisis,security experts say.

Simply by threatening another leak after leaking two sets of Microsoft exploits, Shadow Brokers will ratchet up the hostility between Microsoft and the government, Wheeler wrote.

Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. On Sunday, the company criticized the NSA for stockpiling digital weapons. The tech industry opposes efforts by the government to weaken the security of its products, while national security advocates say it could help combat terrorism.

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Although experts say the Shadow Brokers do not appear to have been directly involved in the WannaCry attack, leaking the exploitin the first place was a major step toward facilitating the cyberattack.

The group's new claim that it possesses information on the nuclear programs of state governments is extremely worrisome, said Joseph Lorenzo Hall, chief technologist for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington think tank."While they don't seem to have the most amazing PR department," he said, "they've already proved that they had some pretty serious access. The nuke facility stuff is particularly concerning, [speaking] as a former physicist.

Previously, the group had sought to sell its hacking tools to the highest bidder. Few buyers came forward, the group said in its blog post. But now, the monthly subscription model might mean the bugs will find their way into the hands of more people, spreading far and wide, Hall said.

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The hacking group that leaked NSA secrets claims it has data on foreign nuclear programs - Washington Post