Microsoft Beefs Up Encryption After NSA Spying Reports

1.  In response to reports that the feds are spying on tech firms' data as it moves between servers, Microsoft today pledged to step up encryption across its services. 
2.  If true, NSA spying could "seriously undermine confidence in the security and privacy of online communications," Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, said in a blog post.
3. Smith said Office 365 and Outlook.com customer content is already encrypted when traveling between customers and Microsoft, while most Office 365 workloads as well as Windows Azure storage are now encrypted in transit between data centers.
4. The NSA denied those allegations. "NSA is a foreign intelligence agency. And we're focused on discovering and developing intelligence about valid foreign intelligence targets only."
5. Read more at ..http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2427962,00.asp?mailingID=4A8C526FE94DD7A9EACC9565528CC0A8

Snowden Likely Used SSH Keys to Access Classified NSA Data

Using public statements from Edward Snowden and NSA officials, digital-certificate firm Venafi pieces together a likely scenario for how the former contractor accessed classified documents.

Edward Snowden has not publicly stated how he leveraged his privileged access to certain servers and top-secret information at the National Security Agency into a wider fishing expedition, netting classified secrets that he had no clearance to access. The NSA hasn't provided much insight either.

This week, however, security researchers at certificate-management firm Venafi threw their collective hat into the ring, posting an analysis stating that Snowden likely used authentication keys to give his account privileged access to other servers in the network. Secure shell (SSH) keys are frequently used by system administrators to log into remote computers without a password, and Snowden likely gained access to others' keys or to privileged accounts and inserted his own keys, the company said.

The most significant clue is General Keith Alexander's testimony in which the NSA chief reportedly stated that Snowden "fabricated digital keys" to gain access to classified systems, Jeff Hudson, CEO of Venafi, told eWEEK.

"It all comes back to one thing: 'He fabricated the SSH keys,'" he said. "What he did was he allowed himself access to other systems and in the process he elevated his privilege."

More news at http://www.eweek.com/security/snowden-likely-used-ssh-keys-to-access-classified-nsa-data-venafi.html

Tor Stands Tall Against the NSA

The National Security Agency tried to crack the encryption protecting the Tor network -- known as a bulletproof vehicle for anonymous communication -- but was unable to do so, according to news reports based on revelations provided by former NSA systems administrator Edward Snowden.

Source Tech news

It seems fairly clear that the U.S. security agency has been trying to hack into Tor for some time. "The real question here concerns who the exploit was targeting," suggested Ken Westin, founder of mobileprivacy.org. "Was is it people law enforcement had probable cause to monitor, or was it a blanket exploit that targeted all users of Tor?" It's pretty reasonable to assume the latter, Westin opined.

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