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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday May 21 2017, @05:39AM   Printer-friendly
from the the-whole-pantheon dept.

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

WikiLeaks has published a new batch of the ongoing Vault 7 leak, detailing a spyware framework – which "provides remote beacon and loader capabilities on target computers" – allegedly being used by the CIA that works against every version of Microsoft's Windows operating systems, from Windows XP to Windows 10.

Dubbed Athena/Hera, the spyware has been designed to take full control over the infected Windows PCs remotely, allowing the agency to perform all sorts of things on the target machine, including deleting data or uploading malicious software, and stealing data and send them to CIA server.

[...] According to the whistleblower organization, Athena has the ability to allow the CIA agents to modify its configuration in real time, while the implant is on target "to customize it to an operation."

"Once installed, the malware provides a beaconing capability (including configuration and task handling), the memory loading/unloading of malicious payloads for specific tasks and the delivery and retrieval of files to/from a specified directory on the target system," WikiLeaks claims.

The leaked documents suggest that Athena, written in Python programming language, was developed in August 2015, just a month after Microsoft released its Windows 10 operating system.

Interestingly, one document also suggests that the CIA agents have been advised to make sure that the spyware should not get caught by antivirus software programs, especially Kaspersky AV software.

Source: http://thehackernews.com/2017/05/athena-cia-windows-hacking.html


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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Sunday May 21 2017, @06:59AM (7 children)

    by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <axehandleNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Sunday May 21 2017, @06:59AM (#512914)

    ...allegedly being used by the CIA that works against every version of Microsoft's Windows operating systems, from Windows XP to Windows 10...

    Good thing I kept my windows 98 DVD. And when that's at risk I can upgrade to win 3.1 for the same reason... oh shit. Where am I gonna get a floppy drive?

    --
    It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
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  • (Score: 2) by meisterister on Sunday May 21 2017, @07:06AM (6 children)

    by meisterister (949) on Sunday May 21 2017, @07:06AM (#512916) Journal

    Well, damn. Someone beat me to the Windows 98 joke!

    I take your Windows 98 and raise you Windows 2000!

    --
    (May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
    • (Score: 1) by anubi on Sunday May 21 2017, @07:44AM

      by anubi (2828) on Sunday May 21 2017, @07:44AM (#512923) Journal

      ( folding cards and laying them on table... )
      I'm out. All I had was a WIN95OSR2 and a DOS6.20 . You guys too rich for my blood.

      --
      "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
    • (Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Sunday May 21 2017, @08:00AM (4 children)

      by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <axehandleNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Sunday May 21 2017, @08:00AM (#512924)

      I take your Windows 98 and raise you Windows 2000!

      I reply with Gem Windows [wikipedia.org] under DR-DOS. In my Alan Rickman accent whilst stroking the white hairy cat on my lap.

      --
      It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 21 2017, @09:23AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 21 2017, @09:23AM (#512940)

        On the Internet, no one knows you're a cat fancier.

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday May 21 2017, @11:48AM (2 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday May 21 2017, @11:48AM (#512980) Journal

        I'd raise you with a ZX Spectrum, but I can't find a cassette player/recorder any more.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Sunday May 21 2017, @12:46PM (1 child)

          by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <axehandleNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Sunday May 21 2017, @12:46PM (#512994)

          I'd raise you with a ZX Spectrum, but I can't find a cassette player/recorder any more.

          Tried ebay? That's where I found the floppy drive for my win 3.1, DR-DOS and GEM disks.

          --
          It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 22 2017, @12:22AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 22 2017, @12:22AM (#513218)

            Too bad that the floppy drive includes call-home firmware...