U.S. and U.K. spies crack BlackBerry BES encryption, report says

IDG News Service - The U.S. National Security Agency is able to read messages sent via a corporate BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), according to a report by German news magazine Der Spiegel. The purpose of this spying is economic or political, and not to counter terrorism, the magazine hints.

The report, published in English on Monday, cites internal documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Governments have long demanded that BlackBerry provide access to encrypted messages carried by its email and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) services, to allow them to monitor for terrorist activity.

BlackBerry has complied in the case of its consumer-grade BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS), notably providing the Indian government with access to consumer messages. Indeed, Der Spiegel cited NSA documents claiming that since 2009, analysts have been able to see and read text messages sent from BlackBerrys, and to collect and process BIS mails.

However, the company has always maintained that it cannot provide access to messages sent through its offering for corporate customers, BES, saying the encryption keys are known only to the company operating the BES.

However, among the documents leaked by Snowden are some that indicate the NSA, and its U.K. counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), can access text messages and emails sent between BES users, Der Spiegel said.

The two agencies have been targeting messages sent via BlackBerry's platform since before May 2009, when they ran into temporary difficulties that U.K. analysts later traced to a change in BlackBerry's messaging protocol following its acquisition of a smaller company. By March 2010, they were once again able to access the information, Der Spiegel said, citing GCHQ documents marked "UK Secret."

The leaked documents seen by Der Spiegel contain no indications of large-scale spying on smartphone users, but "If the intelligence service defines a smartphone as a target, it will find a way to gain access to its information," the magazine reported.

Der Spiegel said that to acquire BES data involves a sustained effort on the part of the NSA's Office of Tailored Access Operations, a specialized hacking team based in Forte Meade, Maryland.

An NSA presentation entitled "Your target is using a BlackBerry? Now what?" seen by the magazine shows what can be achieved. It contained an image of a Mexican government email, the plain text of which appears in a slide under the title "Post Processed BES collection."

Such cases raise questions for other states. As the magazine noted, the German federal government recently awarded a contract to BlackBerry for secure communications between federal agencies.

Ironically, though, other documents show the NSA is concerned about the effects on national security of BlackBerry's declining popularity among U.S. government employees. Between August 2009 and May 2012, the "only certified government smartphone" saw its share of the U.S. government smartphone market fall from 77 percent to 50 percent, the documents said.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

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Report: NSA defeats many encryption efforts

The U.S. National Security Agency has been circumventing many online encryption efforts through a combination of supercomputers, back doors built into technology products, court orders and other efforts, according to a new report from The New York Times and ProPublica.

The NSA has cracked much of the encryption that protects global commerce, banking, trade secrets and medical records, according to the report, which cites documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The NSA has invested billions of dollars in efforts to defeat encryption since 2000, according to the report.

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In addition to deploying supercomputers to crack encryption, the NSA has worked with U.S. and foreign technology companies to build entry points into their products, the report said. The agency spends more than $250 million a year on its Sigint Enabling Project, which engages the IT industry in an effort to get companies to make their commercial products "exploitable," the report said, citing documents from Snowden.

The report did not name companies that have cooperated with the NSA.

Representatives of the NSA and the U.S. Office of Director of National Intelligence didn't immediately respond to a request for comments on the news report.

In addition, British intelligence agency GCHQ, likely working with the NSA, has been attempting to hack into the protected traffic at Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft's Hotmail, the report said. GCHQ had developed "new access opportunities" into Google's system, according to a document from Snowden.

The NSA has also been working for years to weaken international encryption standards, the report said. NSA memos appear to confirm that the agency planted vulnerabilities in an encryption standard adopted in 2006 by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, the report said.

The NSA sees the ability to decrypt information a vital capacity, and the U.S. competes with China, Russia and other countries in that area, according to the documents referenced in the report.

Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address is grant_gross@idg.com.

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Report: NSA pays millions for US telecom access

When it comes to tapping into U.S. telecommunications networks for surreptitious surveillance, the U.S. National Security Agency can't be accused of not paying its way.

The government agency pays "hundreds of millions of dollars a year" to U.S. telecommunications companies for the equipment and service required to intercept telephone calls, emails and instant messages of potential interest, according to a story in Thursday's Washington Post.

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For the current fiscal year, the NSA will pay $278 million for such access, and had paid $394 million in fiscal 2011, according to the Post.

Although previous news reports of NSA surveillance noted that the agency paid the costs for tapping into communications networks, the exact amount the agency has paid has not been cited before, according to the Post.

One of the largest of the 16 U.S. intelligence offices, the NSA is in charge of collecting and analyzing data to track foreign activities that could be harmful to the U.S. The agency is overseen by the U.S. Department of Defense's Director of National Intelligence.

The practice dates back at least to the 1970s. These data collection programs -- which have gone under names such as Blarney, Stormbrew, Fairview, and Oakstar -- are separate from the PRISM program first publicly unveiled by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. PRISM collects data from U.S. service providers such as Microsoft, Facebook and Google, whereas with these programs, the NSA collects potential data of interest as it moves across telecommunication gateways.

The article did not provide the names of any telecommunications companies that participate in the program, though notes they typically are paid for the costs of hardware and the labor to install and run the necessary equipment, as well as a certain percentage for profit.

The privacy advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center had noted that it is troublesome that the NSA is paying so much to telecommunication companies given that their customers expect that their communications remain private.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab's email address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com.

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Report: Apple buys Embark, yet another mapping app

Apple is reportedly acquiring mapping app developer Embark, in a move that could lend more real-time navigation features for public transit to Apple's own Maps app.

The acquisition, which was first reported by tech journalist Jessica Lessin, follows several other recent mapping purchases for Apple: HopStop, another maker of apps for public transit directions; and Locationary, which provides data about local businesses; and WifiSLAM, an indoor location and mapping company.

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Apple did not directly confirm its acquisition of Embark, but in an emailed statement said, "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Apple declined to comment further on the deal.

Apple has faced some serious challenges over the past year in providing a consistently solid mapping product with its Maps app. Last September Apple CEO Tim Cook was forced to publicly apologize for a series of issues plaguing the company's Maps app in Apple's iOS 6 operating system.

Embark is a company based in the San Francisco Bay Area that makes a mobile mapping app designed to help people navigate mass transit systems. The company's app provides "tailored trips" specific to the user's region, along with notifications for late-running trains and other advisories and closures.

Embark's technology, if it does find its way into a future Apple product, could enhance Apple's mapping products and make the company a stronger competitor to rivals like Google. Google's Maps app already offers real-time public transit navigation features, as do some smaller players like iTransitBuddy.

Embark's app is available for free on the iPhone for 10 transit systems including Boston's MBTA, Chicago's L, the New York City Subway, and San Francisco's BART and Caltrain systems, with more on the way, according to Embark's website.

It is not clear whether Embark's app will be shut down as part of the acquisition. The app was still available in Apple's App Store at the time of this article's posting.

Embark's team could not be immediately reached to comment on the deal.

Google, meanwhile, has been rolling out a series of enhancements to its Maps app in recent weeks. The service got more real-time traffic alerts just this week, based on Google's recent acquisition of crowdsourced mapping developer Waze. Separately, the Google Maps app received some other navigation tools last month, which came from other data providers such as TomTom.

Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service. Follow Zach on Twitter at @zachminers. Zach's e-mail address is zach_miners@idg.com.

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The Smith Report: August, 2013

The Smith Report is an audio podcast from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business that will help keep you informed about current news and events. The podcast is produced by Office of Marketing Communications.

Listen Now: Summer 2013

Smith MBAs take on a variety of challenging internships over the summer to build their skills and make professional connections.

Mary Herbst, MBA Candidate 2014, tells us about working as a Summer Executive Associate at MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas.

Steven Akotia, MBA Candidate 2014, tells us about working as a Corporate Finance Intern at Stanley Black & Decker in Maryland.

Lily Matusiak, MBA Candidate 2014, tells us about working as a Client Development Consulting Intern at Gallup Consulting in Chicago.

Katlin Hampton, MBA Candidate 2014, tells us about working as a graduate intern at Liberty Mutual in Boston.

Tom Fisher, MBA Candidate 2014, tells us about working as a financial analyst intern at Campbell's Soup in New Jersey.

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