Category Archives: NSA

Written by Shannon Vavra May 7, 2020 | CYBERSCOOP

Good hackers steal, great hackers borrow.

According to new research from ESET, a code obfuscation tool thats been linked to Chinese-based hackers has been used in tandem with an implant that has been attributed to Equation Group, a hacking faction that is broadly believed to have ties to the National Security Agency.

ESET says the obfuscation tool is linked with Winnti Group, while the implant, known as PeddleCheap, appeared in an April 2017 leak from the mysterious group known as theShadow Brokers.

Its unclear if the sample was used in a malicious campaign or if its the product of a security researcher experimenting with different tools,according to Marc-tienne Lveill, a malware researcher at ESET. It was uploaded to malware-sharing repository VirusTotal in 2017, according to Lveill.

The Winnti-linked packer was used in a series of intrusions at gaming organizations in 2018, which ESET has previously documented.

ESET published its findings in the hopes that some other researchers may have more visibility into the samples origins, Lvill told CyberScoop.

Its not clear who is behind the sample its possible Equation Group used the Winnti-linked portion to run its own intelligence collection, but it is also possible Winnti, which is suspected to have links with the Chinese government, used the leaked NSA implant for its operations.

Lveill said he views the latter as the likely explanation.

It is likely that the Winnti Group used tools from the Shadow Brokers leak as a first stage to compromise their victims in 2017. Another, less likely, scenario is that the Equation Group has seen and reused the Winnti Group packer in their operations, Lveill told CyberScoop. Yet another, even less-likely scenario is that a thirdparty who had access to this Winnti Group [tool], used it with PeddleCheap from the Shadow Brokers leak.

The malware combination shows the far-reaching ramifications of the Shadow Brokers leak: attributing attacks via tools that were used in the massive dump is much moredifficult, as any number of actors can use them to muddle up security researchers findings.

These samples are an example of how attribution is difficult, if not impossible, by looking only at malware samples without additional context. It is relatively easy to repurpose malware [artifacts] once they are discovered and documented, Lveill told CyberScoop. In addition to that, it is possible intelligence agencies discover these components before they are public knowledge, misleading attribution made by analysts later on.

While the actors behind the Winnti-PeddleCheaptool may be unknown, Chinese hackers had access to some other tools that appeared in the Shadow Brokers leak months before the Shadow Brokers revealedthem to the public.

It remains unclear if that group, known as Buckeye orAPT3, stole the tools by breaching NSA systems or if they caught them in the wild. It is also possible the Chinese hackers independently observed the same vulnerabilities and created similar tools to exploit them.

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A discovered malware sample uses code from the NSA and a Chinese hacking group - CyberScoop

The National Security Agency develops advanced hacking tools in-house for both offense and defensewhich you could probably guess even if some notable examples hadn't leaked in recent years. But on Tuesday at the RSA security conference in San Francisco, the agency demonstrated Ghidra, a refined internal tool that it has chosen to open source. And while NSA cybersecurity adviser Rob Joyce called the tool a "contribution to the nations cybersecurity community" in announcing it at RSA, it will no doubt be used far beyond the United States.

You can't use Ghidra to hack devices; it's instead a reverse-engineering platform used to take "compiled," deployed software and "decompile" it. In other words, it transforms the ones and zeros that computers understand back into a human-readable structure, logic, and set of commands that reveal what the software you churn through it does. Reverse engineering is a crucial process for malware analysts and threat intelligence researchers, because it allows them to work backward from software they discover in the wildlike malware being used to carry out attacksto understand how it works, what its capabilities are, and who wrote it or where it came from. Reverse engineering is also an important way for defenders to check their own code for weaknesses and confirm that it works as intended.

"If youve done software reverse engineering, what youve found out is its both art and science; theres not a hard path from the beginning to the end," Joyce said. "Ghidra is a software reverse-engineering tool built for our internal use at NSA. We're not claiming that this is the one thats going to be replacing everything out thereit's not. But it helped us address some things in our workflow."

"Theres really no downside."

Former NSA Hacker Dave Aitel

Similar reverse-engineering products exist on the market, including a popular disassembler and debugger called IDA. But Joyce emphasized that the NSA has been developing Ghidra for years, with its own real-world priorities and needs in mind, which makes it a powerful and particularly usable tool. Products like IDA also cost money, whereas making Ghidra open source marks the first time that a tool of its caliber will be available for freea major contribution in training the next generation of cybersecurity defenders. (Like other open source code, though, expect it to have some bugs.) Joyce also noted that the NSA views the release of Ghidra as a sort of recruiting strategy, making it easier for new hires to enter the NSA at a higher level or for cleared contractors to lend their expertise without needing to first come up to speed on the tool.

The NSA announced Joyces RSA talk, and Ghidras imminent release, in early January. But knowledge of the tool was already public thanks to WikiLeaks March 2017 Vault 7 disclosure, which discussed a number of hacking tools used by the CIA and repeatedly referenced Ghidra as a reverse-engineering tool created by the NSA. The actual code hadnt seen the light of day, though, until Tuesdayall 1.2 million lines of it. Ghidra runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux and has all the components security researchers would expect. But Joyce emphasized the tool's customizability. It is also designed to facilitate collaborative work among multiple people on the same reversing projecta concept that isn't as much of a priority in other platforms.

Ghidra also has user-interface touches and features meant to make reversing as easy as possible, given how tedious and generally challenging it can be. Joyce's personal favorite? An undo/redo mechanism that allows users to try out theories about how the code they are analyzing may work, with an easy way to go back a few steps if the idea doesn't pan out.

The NSA has made other code open source over the years, like its Security-Enhanced Linux and Security-Enhanced Android initiatives. But Ghidra seems to speak more directly to the discourse and tension at the heart of cybersecurity right now. By being free and readily available, it will likely proliferate and could inform both defense and offense in unforeseen ways. If it seems like releasing the tool could give malicious hackers an advantage in figuring out how to evade the NSA, though Dave Aitel, a former NSA researcher who is now chief security technology officer at the secure infrastructure firm Cyxtera, said that that isn't a concern.

Malware authors already know how to make it annoying to reverse their code, Aitel said. Theres really no downside to releasing Ghidra.

No matter what comes next for the NSA's powerful reversing tool, Joyce emphasized on Tuesday that it is an earnest contribution to the community of cybersecurity defendersand that conspiracy theorists can rest easy. "Theres no backdoor in Ghidra," he said. "Come on, no backdoor. On the record. Scout's honor."

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The NSA Makes Ghidra, a Powerful Cybersecurity Tool, Open ...

The Centres decision to ask television channels to include weather reports and forecasts for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Northern Areas signals a significant shift in Indias strategy on Imran Khans Pakistan, people familiar with the development told Hindustan Times on Friday.

The move was conceived by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval some time back, a top government official said.

The formal proposal, crafted a little over three months back, went out from Deputy National Security Adviser (Strategic Affairs) Rajinder Khannas office on 3 February to the secretaries of foreign and home ministries apart from chiefs of Indias two lead intelligence agencies: Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing.

Their formal approvals came last week.

At one of the early discussions that were held to finetune the proposal, the official recalled how Doval had spoken of the multiple messages that this one move would send.

Doordarshan News has included towns of territories occupied by Pakistan in its daily weather bulletins(DD News/Screengrab)

The central point, the official said, is that this is my area and I am asserting my sovereignty by taking all the steps.

This week, the government told public broadcaster Doordarshan to include weather forecasts of Mirpur and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit in the Northern Areas that are described by Pakistan as Gilgit Baltistan. Some private news channels have already told the government that they will also make changes to their weather bulletins.

Doordarshan was also told to use weather maps that include the entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir that would serve as a daily, and public reiteration of Indias stand.

Doordarshan News has started putting out weather reports for three Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Gilgit as part of its weather report in different parts of the country(DDNews/Screengrab)

A second senior government official said the move marked a shift in Indias approach that had been perceived to be hesitant to go all out to hammer the message to Pakistan, its allies and the world that Islamabad was in illegal occupation of over 86,000 square km of Jammu and Kashmir.

This changes.

For one, the assertion of sovereignty becomes particularly important because of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through the Northern Areas or, the expansive Gilgit-Baltistan region that is almost twice the size of Kerala.

When China floated the Belt and Road Initiative a few years ago, it had expected India to be part of the project though it passes through the Northern Areas under Pakistani control. When India protested, Beijing told New Delhi to still join in because this would not affect the status of Kashmir as a dispute between the two countries.

The daily weather map reinforces Indias message on the entire territory of J&K, every day, the official said.

The daily weather forecast, and the map of India on the television screens, also underlines Indias strong views on the occupied territory but also the fact that Pakistan was making material changes to the region and exploiting the population of this region.

In many ways, the official said, the map of India on the television screens also spotlights the plight of the people living in these areas whose rights are violated by Islamabad on a daily basis.

There is another constituency that India hopes to message: the political establishment in the United Kingdom to ask them to not take sides.

A large proportion of the Pakistani expatriate population in the United Kingdom is from Mirpur who have close links with Labour Party leaders such as Jeremy Corbyn who had gone to the extent of passing a resolution to seek international intervention after India scrapped Jammu and Kashmirs special status.

Link:
NSA Ajit Doval packs in 3 blunt messages to Pak in daily PoK weather forecast - Hindustan Times

Next week the Senate is poised to resurrect some federal surveillance powers that expired in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. A handful of senators are hoping to force through reforms to better protect Americans' privacy.

In March the USA Freedom Act expired, somewhat unceremoniously, as lawmakers were unable to reach a consensus on a renewal as the pandemic began to pick up steam and overtake all public policy priorities.

The USA Freedom Act authorized (but restricted) the collection of Americans' phone and internet record metadata that the National Security Agency (NSA) had been gathering without citizen knowledge before Edward Snowden exposed it. A compromise bill, the USA Freedom Act added some buffers to how the NSA would collect the data and required more reporting of the activities of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) courts, so citizens would have a better sense of the extent that this "foreign" surveillance was in fact targeting Americans.

The NSA has since abandoned the metadata collection, which had proven ineffective at tracking down terror threats even as it violated Americans' Fourth Amendment rights. But the Act has other surveillance components (authorizing roving wiretaps, tracking so-called "lone wolf" terrorists). And even though the NSA has stopped using its metadata collection powers, President Donald Trump's administration has asked for the entire USA Freedom Act to be renewed, intact, permanently.

Fortunately, that's not going to happen: The House passed a renewal bill in March that officially killed off the records program once and for all. Now surveillance critics in the Senate, such as Rand Paul (RKy.), Mike Lee (RUtah) and Ron Wyden (DOre.), are pushing for further reforms to the way the government targets American citizens for secret surveillance. Their demands for amendments to the House's bill stopped the bill from moving forward in March. Now the Senate plans to consider the House's bill along with these proposed amendments.

The USA Freedom Act played no role in the FBI's use of the FISA court to secretly wiretap former Trump aide Carter Page. But the discovery that the FBI played fast and loose with the truth when requesting these warrants from the FISA court, and the subsequent evidence that the FBI regularly does a terrible job of documenting its evidence when targeting any Americans for FISA surveillance, have created an opening for civil libertarians to call for stronger privacy protections.

The Hill reports:

Sen.Rand Paul (RKy.) will get a vote on his amendment that would bar the FISA court from issuing warrants for American citizens and instead require law enforcement agencies such as the FBI to obtain a warrant from a normal court established under Article III of the Constitution.

Sens.Mike Lee (RUtah) and Patrick Leahy (DVt.) will get a vote on their amendment to require the appointment of amicus curiae, or outside advisers, with expertise in privacy and civil liberties to advise the FISA court on surveillance warrants.

Sens.Steve Daines (RMont.) andRon Wyden (DOre.) will get a vote on an amendment to bar law enforcement from obtaining internet browsing and search history without a warrant.

These are all great amendments. Unfortunately, they will probably fail. Far too many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are against serious surveillance reforms.

Senators like Paul are banking on Trump's outrage over what happened to Page to push these additional reforms through. Establishment Republicans and Democrats are banking on Trump only caring about how surveillance affects him and the people around him.

We'll soon find out which side is correct. My money's on the establishment, but I'll be happy to be wrong this time.

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FISA Surveillance and Possible Reforms Are Back on the Senate's Agenda - Reason

The Lompoc Aftershock is heading to Modesto over the 4th of July weekend for the NSA State Championships with games beginning at 8 a.m. on Independence Day. Then they're off to Las Vegas the following weekend to compete in the NSA Western World Series against some of the top teams in the West, with opening ceremonies on Wednesday, July 16 and pool play beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday. The team includes (front row, from left)Mariah Escobedo, Mariah Villalobos, Jasmin Salas, Tasi Taua; (second row, from left)Amber Hooks, Jacqueline Castaneda, Bianca Gonzales, Samantha Hernandez, Antoinette Terrones; (third row, from left)Alexia Wilhite, Yesenia Vega, Armani Garcia, Alina Terrones, Yesenia Carrillo, Sierra Preston; and (back row, from left) coach Emilio Salas, coach Chris Wilhite, manager Benny Garcia and coach Frank Hernandez. Not pictured is coach Scotty Marshall.In an effort to help defray the cost of competing in the NSA World Series, Aftershock is having a chicken barbecue fundraiser on Saturday, July 12, at the Elks Lodge in Lompoc from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. or until sold out. The donation is $9 per plate. The team is also accepting donations via GoFundMe at http://www.gofundme.com/aftershockfastpitch.

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Photos: Antoinette Terrones over the years | | santamariatimes.com - Santa Maria Times

A SHEEP farming group has welcomed the news that trade discussions with the US are due to start following disruptions caused by Covid-19.

Phil Stocker, chief executive of The National Sheep Association (NSA), has said they are pleased to hear these negotiations are now beginning after the delays caused by the pandemic.

He said: "We believe there are valuable opportunities for both our industry and the US sheep industry, in Britain, getting access for lamb and mutton into the US.

"The US sheep meat market is highly underdeveloped with very low lamb consumption across the country, and I am convinced that our genetics and British lamb and mutton, very different products to those produced by most US sheep farmers, could help stimulate real interest among American consumers and in turn help US sheep farmers see some growth.

For us, access into the US could create demand for those high-value cuts, particularly sheep meat with provenance and a story simply because of the close connections between our countries and the huge interest in our culture and heritage an aspect which sheep farming is steeped in.

He said the NSA is clear that market access to the EU is a priority but is enthusiastic to expand and build stronger connections further afield.

We dont see this as an alternative to the EU market," said Mr Stocker. "But it would be a positive trade that would complement both our exports and our domestic market. This is particularly prudent at current as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has shown how reliant our industry is on the catering and hospitality market and I could see future US demand for British lamb and mutton coming in alongside our own catering markets, all of which help to balance carcase demand and optimise value across the entire sheepmeat product range.

The NSA has previously expressed concerns about the quality of standards UK producers expect importers to meet.

Mr Stocker said: We welcome statements from Ministers and Government officials that in terms of reciprocal trade our standards will be protected and, while as a general statement, the Government is enthusiastic about free and open trade it does recognise that agriculture and food, like the NHS, is an industry that requires a level of protection and I do expect the commitments not to undermine our unique approach to farming, food, and the environment to be upheld.

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NSA welcomes start of trade talks with the US - Darlington and Stockton Times

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New Delhi: China will not be able to tide over the coronavirus crisis like it did with the 1989 Tiananmen Square episode, former National Security Advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon said Wednesday, adding that the impact of Covid-19 will continue to simmer leading to a huge reputational loss for China as well as other countries.

This is going to simmer, this is not like Tiananmen. This is a very different situation, Menon said. Its a huge reputational loss for China. Bigger the country, the bigger the loss of reputation. The Chinese have developed a reputation over the years, which now has been turned against them. Reputation will be used as a stick to beat China with.

Menon, who is also a former foreign secretary, was speaking at an online seminar hosted by the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS). ThePrint was the media partner for the seminar Looking at Post-COVID World: The China Dimension.

According to Menon, who is also chairman of the ICS advisory board, the pandemic has also shown the nervousness with which governments and leaders around the world have dealt with the massive crisis, be it in their individual capacities or at the multilateral stage of the G20 or the UN.

If you look at the level of rhetoric, the shriller the rhetoric, the higher the claims of victory the more it sounds to me that they (world leaders) are really nervous, that they really dont know what they are doing, Menon said.

There is a shouting match that is going on between the leaders now. They are not working together. You saw the G20, you saw the UNSC, they are not managing to work together.

Also read:Pressure mounts on India to call out China for Covid as it readies to take lead role at WHO

On the growing tensions between the US and China, especially over the origin of the virus, Menon said the problems between these major powers had been rising even before the outbreak of the pandemic.

He, however, added that the US narrative on the origin of the virus will continue to rage until the US presidential elections scheduled to take place in November this year.

I think we need to wait until the US elections There is a bipartisan consensus in the US on China and it is much harsher than it has been for a very long time. So no matter what happens in the US elections there is no going back, the former foreign secretary added.

Menon also said despite these rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, both will find it painful to decouple themselves from their economic bonding.

Lets not forget they are also tied to each other like the Siamese twins on the economic side and that decoupling will be really painful for both of them. There will come a time when they will follow their economic interests, he added.

Also read:Modi had turned his back on NAM and SAARC. Covid brings them back on his table

Comparing the pandemic with the 2008-09 financial meltdown crisis, Menon said, Unlike in 2008-end and the beginning of 2009 when for most of the powers, their leadership was secure, they knew they were either going to be there or that they were not going to be there and so they could do the right thing without any fear of any effects on their political future Today you have an issue, which frankly, the leaders dont understand there isnt a kind of scientific or expert advice that you have experience of in the economic field.

He said for India the challenge will be to see where the money goes citing the $60 billion limit that the Modi government has set for coronavirus-related relief.

Ultimately you will have to see what people do with their money. Why are we (India) running such a huge trade deficit with China? This is because Indians are spending their money in China buying things. Thats where I would look six months from now, he added.

He also cautioned against India aligning with the US or with China.

Nobody shares our interest entirely I dont see any alliance really working for us. You need to position yourself where you have better relationships with both the US and China than they have with each other, said Menon, who was also Indias former Beijing envoy from 2000-2003.

Also read:India to push for Pakistans blacklisting at FATF after Handwara & Keran terror attacks

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Covid-19 different from Tiananmen, China wont be able to tide over crisis: Ex-NSA Menon - ThePrint

Natural Science Academy has about 75 students enrolled this year.

Natural Science Academy

A St. Paul Park-based charter school is facing closure after losing its authorizer.

The Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center, which recently changed its name from the Audubon Center of the North Woods, has chosen not to renew its contract with Natural Science Academy, citing poor academic performance and governance concerns. The Natural Science Academy had previously signed two probationary three-year contracts with them.

Osprey authorizes about 35 schools, according to its website. NSA is the only school out of the 10 up for renewal this year to not receive another contract, Erin Anderson, director of charter school authorizing, told BMTN.

The 14-year-old elementary schools website lists 11 staff members. Around 75 students are enrolled this year.

NSA staff and parents have pushed back against the decision in letters to the Minnesota Department of Education, state legislators and a widely circulated petition.

They argue that the closure is unfairly based on state test scores, but the Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Centers correspondence to the school emphasizes poor performance according to other measures, including curriculum-based measures chosen by the school and nationally normed growth assessments. In addition, the authorizer cited concerns over the schools teacher-run leadership structure and governance.

It must be frustrating to have just been informed of this, and we are disappointed to learn that the school board did not adequately advise its community of the risk of closure, in view of the numerous communications from ACNW to the school, Anderson wrote to parents, citing notices sent to the school in May 2018 and February 2019 concerning low academic performance.

In order to be eligible for renewal, the school had to score at least 50 out of 100 points on an assessment based largely on state test scores, measures chosen by the school and nationally normed growth assessments. The school scored 60.7, making it eligible, but it didnt meet the standard for five out of eight academic categories, a March 13 notice from Osprey to NSA says.

Those five areas are reading growth, math growth, reading proficiency, math proficiency and science proficiency, based on three years worth of various measurements of academic performance.

A report from January details that Osprey received complaints against the schools lead teacher from two former employees in November 2017 and December 2019.

The complaints alleged a very stressful and negative workplace and a toxic environment of practices, according to the report.

The school has functioned under basically the same instructional leadership structure for at least the last six years (two contract periods) which has resulted in persistently low academic achievement and a lack of accountability for student outcomes, Osprey wrote in its March notice of non-renewal to the school.

At an informal hearing with Osprey in April, the school provided "ample evidence" of an improved workplace culture, Anderson said in an email. The non-renewal was ultimately based on poor academic performance and "NSA's failure to properly conduct its corporate governance," she said.

Advocates for the school have expressed confusion over the non-renewal process and surprise that the school is being closed during the pandemic.

Kate Maki, whose fourth-grade student has attended the school since kindergarten, began working at the school as a special projects coordinator two years ago.

I really like the school, I completely believe in it. And Im watching it grow and change and become this great thing, Maki said.

The school had a bad year when it was renewed in 2017, Maki said, and implemented an expeditionary learning-based curriculum the next fall.

Our last years science scores were phenomenal We were like, why are we not getting an A+ on this? she said.

She said she and other staff members had the understanding that three-year contracts were the norm.

They said, youve been on probation for six years total. And were like, well, thats always been the case So why would we even bat an eye?

"NSA is being used as a sacrificial lamb."

Harry Adler, who joined the schools board of directors in March, and has held multiple roles in education including principal, executive director of a charter school and current work helping an authorizer assess schools, expressed similar confusion.

What I find strange about it is, many of their schools are basically on probation because theyre on three-year contracts. So they call these three-year contracts probationary, and it has not been that long since the state has offered five-year contracts, he said.

In a complaint letter to the Minnesota Department of Education, Adler emphasized that comparing the schools scores to other students across the state and neighboring District 833 doesnt show an adequate representation of students academic success because of the schools small class sizes.

Thirty-nine students took the MCA tests in 2019, documents show.

Ospreys 2019 annual report shows that 15 percent of its schools had scored lower than 50 percent of their points on its academic performance evaluation, he added.

NSA is being used as a sacrificial lamb to give the perception that ACNW (Audubon Center of the North Woods)is providing strong oversight. I believe the closure decision cannot be justified analytically based on the data and is ethically wrong given the pandemic, Adler said in the letter.

MDE has said it will look into the complaint, Adler said.

Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately described the timing of the employee complaints. In separate instances, two former employees sent a complaint to Osprey after they had stopped working there.

Link:
Dismay, confusion over St. Paul Park charter school's impending closure - Bring Me The News

It hasnt been the best quarter for National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 19% in that time. But in stark contrast, the returns over the last half decade have impressed. We think most investors would be happy with the 120% return, over that period. So while its never fun to see a share price fall, its important to look at a longer time horizon. Of course, that doesnt necessarily mean its cheap now.

Check out our latest analysis for National Storage Affiliates Trust

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term its a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During five years of share price growth, National Storage Affiliates Trust actually saw its EPS drop 57% per year. The impact of extraordinary items on earnings, in the last year, partially explain the diversion.

This means its unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Because earnings per share dont seem to match up with the share price, well take a look at other metrics instead.

We note that the dividend is higher than it was previously always nice to see. Maybe dividend investors have helped support the share price. Wed posit that the revenue growth over the last five years, of 27% per year, would encourage people to invest.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Its good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. Thats a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. If you are thinking of buying or selling National Storage Affiliates Trust stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of National Storage Affiliates Trust, it has a TSR of 174% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And theres no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

Its nice to see that National Storage Affiliates Trust shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 3.3% over the last year. Thats including the dividend. However, that falls short of the 22% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. The pessimistic view would be that be that the stock has its best days behind it, but on the other hand the price might simply be moderating while the business itself continues to execute. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Even so, be aware that National Storage Affiliates Trust is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant

National Storage Affiliates Trust is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

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Shareholders Of National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) Must Be Happy With Their 174% Total Return - Simply Wall St

'Operation Jackboot' claims its last high value target in killing of Riyaz Naikoo.  |  Photo Credit: IANS

Srinagar:The elimination of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Riyaz Naikoo on Wednesday by security forces has raised an alarm for Pakistan-based terror sponsors in the Jammu and Kashmir who propagate anti-India sentiments to destabilise peace in the Valley.

However, the execution of Naikoo was a meticulously planned operation, conceived by none other than National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Code named Operation Jackboot, the task to hunt down one of the most wanted terrorists in the Valley was supervised personally by NSA Doval. Naikoo was the last high-value target in the operation.

The operation was conceived after Pulwama, Kulgam, Anantnag and Shopian in south Kashmir were christened Liberated areas by Pakistan-backed militants.

Homegrown militancy was getting on the nerves of Indias security forces.

Naikoo, aka Bin Qasim, had become the de facto commander of the proscribed terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen after Burhan Wani, the poster boy of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, was eliminated in July 2016.

Qasim, rated as an A++ category terrorist or most-wanted militant, had been on the run for over eight years and carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

The encounter of Burhan Wani sparked a massive uproar in the Valley and the ripple effects were felt as far as Islamabad. Locals look out a funeral procession for Wani and the subsequent violence that erupted in the Valley is still fresh in our minds.

Naikoo was counted as one from the Burhan group of Kashmiris.

The group consisted of Wani and his terror associates Sabzar Bhat, Waseem Malla, Naseer Pandit, Ishfaq Hameed, Tariq Pandit, Afaqullah, Adil Khandey, Saddam Paddar, Wasim Shah and Anees, news agency IANS reported.

These locals became poster boys of militancy in Kashmir and such was their authority, foreign terrorists were pushed to the background.

The Burhan gang of terrorists romanced the picturesque Himalayan region and seduced the educated, yet unemployed, youth of the Valley with a new-found objective in their lives.

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Operation Jackboot: NSA Ajit Dovals brainchild that eliminated Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo - Times Now