all 5 comments

[–]g_dark 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

This is cool! Impressive technique, persistence and inventiveness. Congratulations Christopher.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Forensic computer engineering. Very impressive.
This is also extremely distressing. These are the designed-in backdoor features that Snowden warned us about. Who knows how many of these exist in any given set of computer hardware. He found this one because it was referenced (much credit for top-notch forensics).
Snowden didn't work for the NSA. He was a contractor for Boose, Allen, and Hamilton.
A privately owned law corporation contractor! Private corporations have 100% access to our personal info.

[–]useless_aether[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

the chinese companies are in this kind of thing to their eyeballs too. huawei, zte.. all chip manufacturers are suspect.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The US is probably ahead of the China by 10:1.
I don't remember the last country that China subverted, or invaded.
As an American, I'm way more concerned about what the US is doing with this technology.

[–]expat 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

*Booz. And ES is CIA; BAH as cover to infiltrate NSA, but that's another story. Other than that I agree 100%. The amount of outsourced government jobs (not just in computing) is absolutely crazy and highly distressing.