UK Gov't Created Fake LinkedIn Accounts to Spy on Belgian Telecom

The U.K. Government Communications Headquarters — the British equivalent of the National Security Agency — created fake LinkedIn pages to hack into a major Belgian telecommunications company.

The hack was originally reported by Der Spiegel in September, based on documents leaked by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. At the time, it was not known how the GCHQ pulled off the attack.

As it turns out, the hack was carried out using what is called a “man-in-the-middle attack.” In this case, we now know that means the GCHQ used fake LinkedIn pages to redirect employees to sites containing malware. By tricking company personnel into downloading the malicious software, the GCHQ appears to have been able to breach Belgacom cybersecurity. Read more...