Secret NSA technology that can hack computers not connected to the Internet

For the really paranoid, for the more security-conscious out there, and for those keeping track of the capabilities of the NSA to spy and track, this will really blow your mind.

According to a New York Times report, the NSA has a secret technology that enables it to hack into and mess with data on computers that are not even connected to the Internet.

And the “secret technology” has been in use since at least 2008. Since I’m not the only person that reads the New York Times, I guess it’s no longer a secret.

According to the report, the technology:

…Relies on a covert channel of radio waves that can be transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards inserted surreptitiously into the computers. In some cases, they are sent to a briefcase-size relay station that intelligence agencies can set up miles away from the target.

The radio frequency technology has helped solve one of the biggest problems facing American intelligence agencies for years: getting into computers that adversaries, and some American partners, have tried to make impervious to spying or cyberattack. In most cases, the radio frequency hardware must be physically inserted by a spy, a manufacturer or an unwitting user.

And to think that they were accusing the Chinese of unfettered hacking before this is being made public. You may read the complete report here.