[kictanet] Is Windows 8 a Trojan horse for the NSA? The German Government thinks so

Mon Aug 26 22:19:23 EAT 2013

Also picture this. I know a company that has an agreement with most (if not
all) hardware vendors to hard code an application in the bios, in sleep
mode. A user needs to pay a small license fee to activate the application
so that they can track their lost hardware in case that happens, and the
hardware goes online. Once activated, the app can send details about the
machine to a central server, located you know where. It can either erase
the entire disk, take a snapshot of the disk image and send it, or activate
the camera and take a pic of the thief and send it to you, or wherever.

Whoever that has control of all these possibilities is powerful beyond!

On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 6:53 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:

> @Muraya,
>
> I used to think Android is "open"?  Meaning the comparison to Windows
> would not be appropriate in that if someone sneaked in spy-software in
> Android, I (and many others) can sniff it out, but if someone sneaked in
> some spy software in Windows, only Microsoft and perhaps the US govt would
> know?
>
> Incidentally what @Ikua raises in not far-fetched.  In 2010, it is widely
> believed the US /Israeli Governments unleashed a worm called "stuxnet" that
> chewed up the Iranian nuclear plants to a halt. The mode of delivery is
> also widely believed as being through one of the many regular Windows
> updates that we so faithfully do every week or month over the net.
>
> In other words, most Listers here and across the globe do have the
> "stuxnet" worm on their machines but it is in sleep mode simply because
> their organisations do not run nuclear reactors with specific circuitry.
> This worm was clever enough to only wake up upon sensing certain
> "signature" frequencies originating from certain circuitry that was
> dominant in Iranian nuclear reactors.
>
> Obviously only Microsoft could be able to see the additional logic/payload
> in that particular update.  Contrast this to updates whose code is "open"...
>
> For those technically inclined, you can pick up the story @
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet
>
> walu.
>
>
>
>
>
>   ------------------------------
>  *From:* S.M. Muraya <murigi.muraya at gmail.com>
> *To:* jwalu at yahoo.com
> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> *Sent:* Monday, August 26, 2013 4:12 PM
>
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Is Windows 8 a Trojan horse for the NSA? The
> German Government thinks so
>
> If we worry about 200 Million Windows 8.1 PCs (by 2015) how about 1
> Billion mobile devices running Android by 2015?
>
> Blessings
>
> Murigi / Stanley Muraya
>
> *"Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one
> who takes a city." Prov 16:32*
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 3:12 PM, Evans Ikua <ikua.evans at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The German Government is now deeply suspicious that the Trusted Platform
> Module (TPM) technology built into a growing number of Windows 8 PCs and
> tablets is creating a gigantic back door for NSA surveillance, leaked
> documents have suggested.
> Documents from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs obtained by German
> title *Zeit Online*<http://www.zeit.de/digital/datenschutz/2013-08/trusted-computing-microsoft-windows-8-nsa/seite-1>uncover the alleged unease of officials at the direction of version 2.0 of
> the standard being developed under the auspices of the multi-vendor Trusted
> Computing Group (TCG).
> TPM has been marketed as a security and Digital Rights Management (DRM)
> technology since its appearance in 2006, but version 2.0 would embed a chip
> on every PC that has complete control over which programs can and can’t
> run, a setting that can’t be over-ridden under Windows 8. The chip is also
> where the cryptographic data is stored for Windows BitLocker and it enables
> remote administration.
>
> Please read more here<http://news.techworld.com/security/3465259/is-windows-8-trojan-horse-for-nsa-german-government-thinks-so/#tk.nl_win>
>
> --
> *----------------------------------------------------
> Kind Regards,
> Evans Ikua,*
>
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> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>

-- 
*----------------------------------------------------
Kind Regards,
Evans Ikua,*
lanetconsulting.com,
lpi-eastafrica.org,
ict-innovation.fossfa.net,
Skype: @ikuae
Cell: +254-722-955831
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