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In the aftermath of the WannaCry ransomware attacks this month, Microsoft took the unprecedented step of publically calling out the National Security Agency for hoarding vulnerabilities and exploits, such as EternalBlue.

The WannaCry ransomware worm used a critical vulnerability in the Windows Server Message Block protocol, known as EternalBlue, which was released to the public by the Shadow Brokers last month.

The Shadow Brokers claim to have stolen EternalBlue and other exploits and cyberweapons from another hacking outfit called the Equation Group, which has been tied to the NSA. While Microsoft issued a patch for the vulnerability a month before its disclosure, many organizations failed to update their Windows systems and were left exposed to the WannaCry ransomware worm.

Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer at Microsoft, wrote a blog post regarding WannaCry and claimed it was "yet another example of why the stockpiling of vulnerabilities by governments is such a problem." He also criticized the NSA by name for failing to disclose EternalBlue and other serious exploits to vendors like Microsoft so they could be patched.

"This is an emerging pattern in 2017," Smith wrote. "We have seen vulnerabilities stored by the CIA show up on WikiLeaks, and now this vulnerability stolen from the NSA has affected customers around the world."

In part two of Risk & Repeat's discussion on the WannaCry ransomware attacks, SearchSecurity Senior Reporter Michael Heller joins editors Rob Wright and Peter Loshin to discuss Microsoft's pointed criticism of the U.S. government, the repercussions of the NSA's practice of hoarding vulnerabilities and the effect WannaCry may have on the Vulnerabilities Equities Process.

Link:
Risk & Repeat: Microsoft slams NSA over EternalBlue - TechTarget

National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers was asked by President Donald Trump to publicly push back against the FBI probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion by Trump associates, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.

According to the source, Rogers rebuffed the president's request, deeming it inappropriate. The encounter between Rogers and Trump was documented in a contemporaneous memo.

The White House told ABC News in response to the story that it "does not confirm or deny unsubstantiated claims based on illegal leaks from anonymous individuals. The president will continue to focus on his agenda that he was elected to pursue by the American people."

Trumps request to Rogers is not the first time he has made such an appeal to a top intelligence official.

Following Trump's firing of James Comey on May 9, it was revealed that the former FBI director reportedly wrote a memo detailing a request Trump made to him in February to drop the FBIs investigation of National Security Adviser Mike Flynn.

Rogers later testified in front of the House Armed Services Committee but was not asked about the report.

The Washington Post was the first to report that Trump made the appeal to Rogers in March. The Post also reported that Trump made the same request to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

Asked about the report when he appeared today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Coats declined to comment.

"I have always believed that given the nature of my position and the information which we share it's not appropriate for me to comment publicly on any of that," Coats said. "So on this topic, as well as other topics, I don't feel it's appropriate to characterize discussions and conversations with the president."

Coats said he was not aware of any attempts to contact other intelligence officials to drop the investigation into Flynn.

Though he would not confirm or deny The Post report, Coats said he would be forthcoming if hes asked about it by special counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.

ABC News' Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.

Read more from the original source:
Trump asked NSA director to publicly push back against FBI's ...

On one front, he was being considered as a candidate for the job of director of national intelligence under President-elect Donald Trump. On another front, there were questions about whether he would be fired as director of the National Security Agency by then-President Barack Obama.

Obama's defense and intelligence chiefs had recommended firing Rogers due to the belief that Rogers was not working fast enough on a critical reorganization to address the cyberthreat, but Rogers survived and remained in his role as the director of the NSA and head of US Cyber Command under Trump.

In fact, Rogers has spent more time testifying about that topic than just about any other US official and is facing more questions from lawmakers on Tuesday as the probe continues to look into possible collusion between Russian officials and associates of the Trump campaign.

The revelations, first reported by The Washington Post, deepen the intrigue over alleged links between Trump's campaign and Russia as they follow the President's firing of Comey and his subsequent statement he did so because of the Russia probe.

Both Coats and Rogers were uncomfortable with the nature of the President's request and refused to comply, sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

Rogers also played a key role in last month's House hearing with Comey when he joined the FBI director in refuting Trump's claim that Obama had had his phones tapped during the campaign. He specifically batted down the notion that the Obama administration requested that the British eavesdrop on Trump, an unfounded assertion made on Fox News and later cited by White House officials.

Despite ultimately winning the election, Macron had been the victim of a "massive and coordinated hacking operation," his campaign team said.

"We had talked to our French counterparts ... and we gave them a heads up: 'Look, we are watching the Russians. We are seeing them penetrate some of your infrastructure. Here's what we've seen ... what can we do to assist?'" Rogers told lawmakers on the Senate armed services committee earlier this month.

Prior to assuming his current role at the NSA in 2014, Rogers served as the director for Intelligence for both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and US Pacific Command, and most recently as commander, US Fleet Cyber Command.

A native of Chicago, Rogers attended Auburn University. He graduated in 1981 and received his commission through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. He was selected for re-designation to information warfare in 1986 after initially serving as a surface warfare officer.

Read more here:
Who is NSA Director Mike Rogers? - CNN

New York Times

Federal Court Revives Wikimedia's Challenge to NSA Surveillance New York Times The ruling, by the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, is significant because it increases the chances that the Supreme Court may someday scrutinize whether the N.S.A.'s so-called upstream system for internet surveillance complies with Fourth ... Newly revived Wikipedia suit could reveal secrets of NSA surveillance programVICE News Court revives Wikimedia lawsuit against NSAWashington Post Wikimedia's lawsuit against the NSA is backThe Verge EFF -WND.com -U.S. News & World Report -DocumentCloud all 33 news articles »

The rest is here:
Federal Court Revives Wikimedia's Challenge to NSA Surveillance - New York Times

A bombshell report claims that the NSA, under then President Obama, conducted years of illegal searches of American's private data. The report appears in the online publication Circa and details how once-classified documents show how the spy agency failed to disclose the abuses.

According to a previously classified report reviewed by Circa, one in 20 electronic communications by Americans were scooped up and kept by the NSA. The NSA admitted that the actions of the so-called 702 database potentially violated the fourth amendment protections of millions of Americans. This even after the spy agency's own supervisors agreed in 2011 to follow certain safeguards. The publication goes on to say the Obama administration self-disclosed the violations late last year just before President Donald Trump was elected. The admittance of wrongdoing was made before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The agency received a strong rebuke from the court according to Circa.

In early January, shortly before President Trump's inauguration, Obama administration officials changed the rules regarding the handling of sensitive information of Americans scooped up in NSA data collection. The rule change did away with the previous safeguards and allowed wide dispersion of information on individuals to be spread across several agencies.

The American Civil Liberties Union expressed shock to Circa that the abuses were admitted by government officials. Over the last several months, various operatives with the government have tried to tamp down claims of intentional wiretapping by the former administration.

You can read the full report from Circa as well as the FISA court report in the link to the side of this story.

Link:
Report: Obama era NSA admits to years of illegal searches on Americans - Valley News Live