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<\/b>Zero Hedge<\/strong><\/a> Over a decade ago, it was discovered that the\u00a0NSA embedded backdoor access\u00a0<\/a>into Windows 95, and likely into virtually all other subsequent internet connected, desktop-based operating systems. However, with the passage of time, more and more people went \u201cmobile\u201d, and as a result the NSA had to adapt. And adapt they have: as\u00a0Bloomberg reports<\/a>, \u201cThe NSA is quietly writing code for Google\u2019s Android OS.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Is it ironic that the same \u201cdon\u2019t be evil\u201d Google which went to such great lengths in the aftermath of the Snowden scandal to wash its hands of snooping on its customers and even\u00a0filed a request with the secretive FISA court\u00a0<\/a>asking permission to disclose more information about the government\u2019s data requests, is embedding NSA code into its mobile operating system,\u00a0which according to IDC runs on three-quarters of all smartphones shipped in the first quarter<\/em>? Yes, yes it is.<\/p>\n Google spokeswoman Gina Scigliano\u00a0confirms that the company has already inserted some of the NSA\u2019s programming in Android OS<\/strong>. \u201cAll Android code and contributors are publicly available for review at source.android.com.\u201d Scigliano says, declining to comment further.<\/p>\n From\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>:<\/p>\n Through its open-source Android project, Google has agreed to incorporate code, first developed by the agency in 2011, into future versions of its mobile operating system<\/strong>, which according to market researcher IDC runs on three-quarters of the smartphones shipped globally in the first quarter.\u00a0NSA officials say their code, known as Security Enhancements for Android, isolates apps to prevent hackers and marketers from gaining access to personal or corporate data stored on a device<\/strong>.Eventually all new phones, tablets, televisions, cars, and other devices that rely on Android will include NSA code<\/strong>, agency spokeswoman Vanee\u2019 Vines said in an e-mailed statement. NSA researcher Stephen Smalley, who works on the program, says, \u201cOur goal is to raise the bar in the security of commodity mobile devices.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n See, there\u2019s no need to worry: the reason the NSA is generously providing the source code for every Google-based smartphone is for your own security. Oh but it\u2019s\u00a0open-sourced<\/em>, so someone else will intercept any and all attempts at malice. We forgot.<\/p>\n The story continues:<\/p>\n In a 2011 presentation obtained by Bloomberg Businessweek, Smalley listed among the benefits of the program that it\u2019s \u201cnormally invisible to users<\/strong>.\u201d The program\u2019s top goal, according to that presentation: \u201cImprove our understanding of Android security.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Well one wouldn\u2019t want their bug to be\u00a0visible<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0to users now, would one\u2026<\/p>\n Vines wouldn\u2019t say whether the agency\u2019s work on Android and other software is part of or helps with Prism. \u201cThe source code is publicly available for anyone to use, and that includes the ability to review the code line by line,\u201d she said in her statement.\u00a0Most of the NSA\u2019s suggested additions to the operating system can already be found buried in Google\u2019s latest release\u2013on newer devices including Sony\u2019s Xperia Z, HTC\u2019s One, and Samsung Electronics\u2019 Galaxy S4.\u00a0<\/strong>Although the features are not turned on by default, according to agency documentation,\u00a0future versions will be<\/strong>. In May the Pentagon approved the use of smartphones and tablets that run Samsung\u2019s mobile enterprise software, Knox, which also includes NSA programming, the company wrote in a June white paper. Sony, HTC, and Samsung declined to comment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Apple appears to be immune from this unprecedented breach of customer loyalty, if only for now, although open-sourced Linux may not be as lucky:<\/p>\n \u201cApple (AAPL) does not accept source code from any government agencies for any of our operating systems or other products,\u201d says Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for the company. It\u2019s not known if any other proprietary operating systems are using NSA code.SE for Android is an offshoot of a long-running NSA project called Security-Enhanced Linux<\/strong>. That code was integrated a decade ago into the main version of the open-source operating system, the server platform of choice for Internet leaders including Google, Facebook (FB), and Yahoo! (YHOO). Jeff Zemlin, the executive director of the Linux Foundation, says the NSA didn\u2019t add any obvious means of eavesdropping. \u201cThis code was peer-reviewed by a lot of people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But that\u2019s not all:<\/p>\n The NSA developed a separate Android project because Google\u2019s mobile OS required markedly different programming, according to Smalley\u2019s 2011 presentation. Brian Honan, an information technology consultant in Dublin, says his clients in European governments and multinational corporations are worried about how vulnerable their data are when dealing with U.S. companies. The information security world had been preoccupied with Chinese hacking until recently, Honan says. \u201cWith Prism, the same accusations can be laid against the U.S. government.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In short: the (big brother supervised) fun never stops in Stasi 2.0 world. Just buy your 100 P\/E stocks, eat your burgers, watch your Dancing With The Stars, pay your taxes, and engage in as much internet contact with other internet-addicted organisms as possible and all shall be well.<\/p>\n <!– <\/p>\n –><\/p>\n This article was posted: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 5:25 am<\/p>\n Tags: constitution<\/a>, domestic news<\/a>, domestic spying<\/a>, government corruption<\/a>, police state<\/a><\/p>\n
July 10, 2013<\/p>\n\n
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