Risky Bulletin Between Two Nerds: NSA gets its mojo back!
Oct 27, 2025
Tom Uren and The Grugq dive into the implications of the NSA allegedly hacking China's national timekeeping service. They discuss the intelligence value of targeting such systems and the operational strategies involved. The hosts explore the use of triangulation exploits and how compromised phones can lead to network breaches. Insights into NSA's sophisticated tactics, such as patience and stealth in operations, highlight a shift from previous approaches. The conversation provides a fascinating look at modern espionage dynamics and the evolving threat landscape.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Public Claims Backed By Technical Report
- China published a CN-CERT report and MSS Weixin post accusing the NSA of compromising the national timekeeping service.
- The episode links the public propaganda to a technical CERT analysis revealing operational tradecraft and timeline details.
Why A Time Service Matters
- The timekeeping network offered unclear direct intelligence value but could serve as a foothold or disruption vector.
- Tom Uren and The Grugq suggest links to Beidou and precision systems make the target potentially valuable.
Phone Exploit Used To Harvest Credentials
- The attackers used an iPhone exploit dubbed 'triangulation' to compromise staff devices.
- They harvested credentials from phones to pivot into the time service network rather than rely solely on platform exploits.