Secret Spy Software Used by Intelligence Agencies Around the World

How does one come to know of the mass surveillance projects and secret spy software used by intelligence agencies from around the world? Most of the western software mentioned here was leaked by Edward Snowden, who exposed that the (Five Eye) US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom were all involved in a collaborative network that intercepted communications between individuals around the world, and even on native soil.

Specialized groups or think tanks that identify and track state actors over the years have identified shady organizations and groups believed to be associated with certain Governments. Additionally, in some countries, right-to-information requests have yielded some information. Apart from rare exceptions where a government declares that certain technologies are being used, most of the time, it is never accepted that specific software has been implemented. The extent to which it was used is typically downplayed. In case a country falls victim to an attack or is breached somehow. Such instances are also not likely to be reported or accepted.

At times, such spy software(s) have been discovered after botched attempts to install them. Note that, for the most part, these names are the codenames, or what are officially known as cover names of the software. Some publications to keep track of such surveillance campaigns and programs include The Intercept, Homeland Security Today, and The Guardian. Another source of information is blogged by cybersecurity firms such as Symantec and Kaspersky.

Let’s throw some light on popular mass surveillance projects and secret spy software used by intelligence agencies to intercept communications between individuals around the world and even on native soil.

MASS SURVEILLANCE SOFTWARE

These are the software that all work on the same basic principle. The physical infrastructure where most of the internet traffic in the world is funneled is tapped into. These may include national exchanges, international gateways, or fiber optic backbones. A simple way to understand this is that the signals are intercepted, and there are keyword-based searches for certain words and phrases, such as “bomb” or “attack”. The monitoring is continuous and in real-time.

#1. RAMPART-A & XKeyscore

RAMPART-A is a US system disclosed by Snowden that began way back in 1992 when the fiber-optic infrastructure was being set up around the world. The global congestion points of fiber-optic traffic are tapped into, with agreements signed between participating nations. All kinds of communication are tapped by this system, including fax, VOIP calls, and instant messages. RAMPART-A works in tandem with an XKeyscore, a program that can figure out the surfing habits of individual users and create a profile known as a fingerprint. After that, just based on surfing habits alone, a particular tagged user can be tracked in meat space and cyberspace. These profiles allow agencies to bypass attempts to anonymize internet use.

#2. Tempora & PRISM

Tempora is a system used by the UK government which is similar to both RAMPART-A and XKeyscore. Perhaps, the most well-known mass surveillance software is PRISM. According to a leaked slideshow by Snowden, there are a number of big tech companies participating in the system, including Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple. The system exploits the fact that most of the internet traffic passes through America, as the traffic has the tendency to use the cheapest available route rather than the most direct route. Most of the actual hardware for the internet is also located in the US. PRISM can apparently be used to intercept emails, voice chats, file transfers, and social networking details.

#3. NETRA

India too has a system in place called NETRA (Network Traffic Analysis). That is the actual name of the system, and it has been publicly disclosed and discussed as well. The system is capable enough to monitor all kinds of things, including status messages, video calls, tweets, and shared images. Initially, the system was used by RAW, but it is now used by domestic security agencies as well.

#4. STORM

The Russian version, called STORM, began by being implemented on telecom infrastructure in the early 90s. The same system has evolved and is now used to intercept internet traffic as well by tapping into the infrastructure of internet service providers. Unlike implementations by other countries, the same system can be used for targeted individual surveillance as well.

Many other countries have similar systems in place, and in some countries, mass surveillance is simply not covert. Here you can see the list of government mass surveillance projects.