A-Infos (en) How NSA access was built into Windows

["Lysander Zimmerman" <LAMZ@sympatico.ca>]

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This is important information for anyone who does not want authoritarian
state thugs scanning their computer for information.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul" <webmaster@globalcircle.net>
To: <GlobalGreens@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 1:37 PM
Subject: How NSA access was built into Windows

 How NSA access was built into Windows
 Duncan Campbell  04.09.1999
 >
 Careless mistake reveals subversion of Windows by NSA.
 >
 A CARELESS mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that
 special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency
 have been secretly built into Windows. The NSA access system is
 built into every version of the Windows operating system now in
 use, except early releases of Windows 95 (and its predecessors).
 The discovery comes close on the heels of the revelations
 earlier this year that another US software giant, Lotus, had
 built an NSA "help information" trapdoor into its Notes system,
 and that security functions on other software systems had been
 deliberately crippled.
 >
 The first discovery of the new NSA access system was made two
 years ago by British researcher Dr Nicko van Someren. But it was
 only a few weeks ago when a second researcher rediscovered the
 access system. With it, he found the evidence linking it to NSA.
 >
 Computer security specialists have been aware for two years that
 unusual features are contained inside a standard Windows
 software "driver" used for security and encryption functions.
 The driver, called ADVAPI.DLL, enables and controls a range of
 security functions. If you use Windows, you will find it in the
 C:\Windows\system directory of your computer.
 >
 ADVAPI.DLL works closely with Microsoft Internet Explorer, but
 will only run crypographic functions that the US governments
 allows Microsoft to export. That information is bad enough news,
 from a European point of view. Now, it turns out that ADVAPI
 will run special programmes inserted and controlled by NSA. As
 yet, no one knows what these programmes are, or what they do.
 Dr Nicko van Someren reported at last year's Crypto 98
 conference that he had disassembled the ADVADPI driver. He found
 it contained two different keys. One was used by Microsoft to
 control the cryptographic functions enabled in Windows, in
 compliance with US export regulations. But the reason for
 building in a second key, or who owned it, remained a mystery.
 >
 A second key
 >
 Two weeks ago, a US security company came up with conclusive
 evidence that the second key belongs to NSA. Like Dr van
 Someren, Andrew Fernandez, chief scientist with Cryptonym of
 Morrisville, North Carolina, had been probing the presence and
 significance of the two keys. Then he checked the latest Service
 Pack release for Windows NT4, Service Pack 5. He found that
 Microsoft's developers had failed to remove or "strip" the
 debugging symbols used to test this software before they
 released it. Inside the code were the labels for the two keys.
 One was called "KEY". The other was called "NSAKEY".
 >
 Fernandes reported his re-discovery of the two CAPI keys, and
 theirsecret meaning, to "Advances in Cryptology, Crypto'99"
 conference held in Santa Barbara. According to those present at
 the conference, Windows developers attending the conference did
 not deny that the "NSA" key was built into their software. But
 they refused to talk about what the key did, or why it had been
 put there without users' knowledge.
 >
 A third key?!
 >
 But according to two witnesses attending the conference, even
 Microsoft's top crypto programmers were astonished to learn that
 the version of ADVAPI.DLL shipping with Windows 2000 contains
 not two, but three keys. Brian LaMachia, head of CAPI
 development at Microsoft was "stunned" to learn of these
 discoveries, by outsiders. The latest discovery by Dr van
 Someren is based on advanced search methods which test and
> report on the "entropy" of programming code.
> >
 Within the Microsoft organisation, access to Windows source code
 is said to be highly compartmentalized, making it easy for
 modifications to be inserted without the knowledge of even the
 respective product managers.
 >
 Researchers are divided about whether the NSA key could be
 intended to let US government users of Windows run classified
 crypto systems on their machines or whether it is intended to
 open up anyone's and everyone's Windows computer to intelligence
 gathering techniques deployed by NSA's burgeoning corps of
 "information warriors".
 >
 According to Fernandez of Cryptonym, the result of having the
 secret key inside your Windows operating system "is that it is
 tremendously easier for the NSA to load unauthorized security
 services on all copies of Microsoft Windows, and once these
 security services are loaded, they can effectively compromise
 your entire operating system". The NSA key is contained inside
 all versions of Windows from Windows 95 OSR2 onwards.
 >
 "For non American IT managers relying on Windows NT to operate
 highly secure data centres, this find is worrying", he added.
 "The US government is currently making it as difficult as
 possible for "strong" crypto to be used outside of the US. That
 they have also installed a cryptographic back door in the
 world's most abundant operating system should send a strong
 message to foreign IT managers".
 >
 "How is an IT manager to feel when they learn that in every copy
 of Windows sold, Microsoft has a 'back door' for NSA - making it
 orders of magnitude easier for the US government to access your
 computer?" he asked.
 >
 Can the loophole be turned round against the snoopers?
 >
 Dr van Someren feels that the primary purpose of the NSA key
 inside Windows may be for legitimate US government use. But he
 says that there cannot be a legitimate explanation for the third
 key in Windows 2000 CAPI. "It looks more fishy", he said.
 Fernandez believes that NSA's built in loophole can be turned
 round against the snoopers. The NSA key inside CAPI can be
 replaced by your own key, and used to sign cryptographic
 security modules from overseas or unauthorised third parties,
 unapproved by Microsoft or the NSA. This is exactly what the US
 government has been trying to prevent. A demonstration "how to
 do it" program that replaces the NSA key can be found on
 Cryptonym's website.
 >
 According to one leading US cryptographer, the IT world should
 be thankful that the subversion of Windows by NSA has come to
 light before the arrival of CPUs that handles encrypted
 instruction sets. These would make the type of discoveries made
 this month impossible. "Had the next generation CPU's with
 encrypted instruction sets already been deployed,we would have
 never found out about NSAKEY."



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