The National Security Agency (NSA) has infected more than 50,000 computer networks worldwide with malware that steals information, according Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, which said it received documented proof from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
“The malware can be controlled remotely and be turned on and off at will,” according to the NRC Handelsblad report by Floor Boon, Steven Derix and Huib Modderkolk. “The ‘implants' act as digital ‘sleeper cells' that can be activated with a single push of a button.”
Some of the malware was said to remain undetected on networks for years. The NSA attacks were reportedly carried out by a special department known as Tailored Access Operations (TAO), which was said to employ more than a thousand hackers.
