NSA Exposed, Hiding Spying Software Deep Inside Hard Drives

New NSA spy facility in Utah

A story published Monday by Reuters revealed a Moscow based security software maker, "Kaspersky Lab" [1] , discovered the NSA has hidden spying software deep within hard drives made by top computer manufacturers including Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, IBM, Micron, and Samsung.

In a way it's not exactly a new story as the Snowden revelations made known the NSA used "back door" entry [2] into software products they intercepted after they'd been shipped by the manufacturer-without their knowledge- then repackaged the infected software and reshipped it to the unsuspecting buyer.

When manufacturers discovered the NSA's secret scheme they complained to the White House billions in profits would be lost once owners-foreign governments, corporations, weapons manufacturers, intelligence agencies-discovered their software had been compromised allowing the NSA to spy on the users.

It's hard to imagine the government has done anything to curtail the NSA's skullduggery. Read this from Peter Swire, a member of President Obama's so called "Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology" when he said, "The Kaspersky report showed that it is essential for the country to consider the possible impact on trade and diplomatic relations before deciding to use its knowledge of software flaws for intelligence gathering. There can be serious negative effects on other US interests." Please, what a crock.

To our intel spooks there's no deciding beforehand whether or not to use its knowledge other than to go full speed ahead and mine EVERYTHING. There's no need to justify clandestine surveillance because of possible suspicious activity by an adversary. That's because EVERYONE is the enemy, foreign or domestic; it doesn't matter.

Kaspersky's published report revealed this spying campaign was closely linked to "Stuxnet" [3] , the NSA cyber weapon that infected Iran's uranium enrichment facility in 2010.

Here's the bottom line; the US initiated cyber warfare with Stuxnet.

For sure other countries had the technological knowhow and the means to conduct their own cyberwarfare but realized in doing so would unleash cyberwarfare against them; so they refrained.

Not so the US and its pathological NSA. They had to know their clandestine cyber spying would eventually be discovered. They could care less.

These NSA cyberwarfare programs are just an extension of official Washington's endless global war on terror. It's all of the same piece.