[Am-info] NSA keys in Windows

[Paul Rickard]

========== On 2002.04.21 11:29 AM, John Poltorak typed: ============

>Does anyone have a link to any useful articles involving the NSA keys in 
>Windows Registry?
>
>AIUI NSA refers the the US National Security Agency.
>
>There was some discussion about this in the press some time ago, but I 
>don't remember the gist of it.

    Here are all my references to NSA:

The Boycott Bulletin, 1999.09.13:
      *During an investigation of the Windows NT security subsystem, 
Cryptonym scientist Andrew Fernanded discovered something scary buried 
deep inside Windows. Microsoft includes a feature called the 'CryptoAPI' 
in Windows 95, 98, NT4 and 2000 so individual programs won't have to do 
the heavy calculations involved in encrypting data. But as Fernanded 
discovered, Microsoft forgot to remove the identifying components from 
one of CryptoAPI's two decryption keys in NT Service Pack 5. The first 
one that was already identified is used by Microsoft to verify that 
CryptoAPI system updates are genuine. The second key, called NSAKEY, is 
apparently there for the US National Security Agency. If the NSA actually 
had access to it, the key would allow faulty CryptoAPI services to be 
loaded on a computer without permission, thus making encrypted 
information decodable.
     Following several critical news reports, Microsoft issued a 
statement confirming the existance of NSAKEY, but said it is only there 
to "ensure compliance with U.S. export laws," and has not been shared 
with any government agency or outside company. Whichever way Microsoft 
intended the key to be used, its existance has actually made those 
excessively strict encryption laws easier to break; NSAKEY is simple to 
remove, meaning anyone can replace it with an illegal-strength cryptology 
service without the approval of Microsoft or the NSA. -|

       Gates, Gerstner helped NSA snoop - US Congressman
      http://theregister.co.uk/000412-000020.html

The Boycott Bulletin, 2000.01.24:
      When Windows 2000 finally ships next month, it will include a 
built-in feature that was against US law until last week - 128-bit 
encryption. According to Microsoft's Brian Valentine, that took a special 
arrangement with the government, so we can naturally assume that they 
included a backdoor for the NSA just like the one discovered back in 
September [see NewsSource, Sep. 13 '98 - 
http://msboycott.com/news/99_09_13.shtml ]. -|

The Boycott Bulletin, 2001.03.26:
       *According to German newsmag 'Der Spiegel', the German military 
and some of its diplomatic departments are abandoning Microsoft products 
in droves because of concerns over their security and the lack thereof. 
The report claims that the German government is extremely concerned over 
recently discovered vulnerabilities in Microsoft's software and the 
infamous Windows NT 'NSAKEY' that apparently gives the US government 
backdoor access to Windows' built in encryption. If the 'Spiegel' report 
holds true, software from Microsoft and a few other US companies will be 
replaced by secure systems developed by native German groups.
       A German Defense Ministry official has denied the report and says 
the government will continue using Microsoft products. But at the same 
time, he didn't deny that they are still concerned about security trouble 
with Microsoft, and commented that the problem is currently being handled 
with firewalls and customized NSAKEY-free encryption software. That 
statement notwithstanding, a move away from Microsoft products would 
certainly be a popular move in the country where Linux is becoming more 
widely used than Windows. -|
       ALSO SEE:
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/17679.html
    http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,42502,00.html


======== Paul Rickard, Editor of The Microsoft Boycott Campaign =======
--------------------------------[ Http://www.msboycott.com ]-----------

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