Apparently the US National Security Agency (NSA) “has figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the majority of the world’s computers, according to cyber researchers and former operatives”  as reported by Reuters on February 16, 2015.  Reuters relied on a former NSA employee who confirmed the allegations which were presented in Kaspersky Lab’s report entitled “Equations Group: Questions and Answers” which stated that this malware has been around since 1996 and that the:

The Equation group is probably one of the most sophisticated cyber attack groups in the world; and they are the most advanced threat actor we have seen.

The report identified victims in more than 30 countries including the US in these categories:

  • Governments and diplomatic institutions
  • Telecommunication
  • Aerospace
  • Energy
  • Nuclear research
  • Oil and gas
  • Military
  • Nanotechnology
  • Islamic activists and scholars
  • Mass media
  • Transportation
  • Financial institutions
  • Companies developing cryptographic technologies

Cannot image any other category so I guess that means everyone on earth, what do you think?

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