NSA reportedly intercepting and installing malware on laptops purchased online

A new report based on internal NSA document claims the the agency is able to intercept and install malware on laptops purchased online by diverting shipping deliveries to its own “secret workshops”. This malware allow the NSA to gain remote access over the device. While the extent of the program and who is targeted isn’t know, its still a frightening concept. 

According to a new report from Der Spiegel based on internal NSA documents, the signals intelligence agency’s elite hacking unit (TAO) is able to conduct sophisticated wiretaps in ways that make Hollywood fantasy look more like reality. The report indicates that the NSA, in collaboration with the CIA and FBI, routinely and secretly intercepts shipping deliveries for laptops or other computer accessories in order to implant bugs before they reach their destinations. According to Der Spiegel, the NSA’s TAO group is able to divert shipping deliveries to its own “secret workshops” in a method called interdiction, where agents load malware onto the electronics or install malicious hardware that can give US intelligence agencies remote access.