Microsoft says they've patched NSA's hacking tools targeting devices running Windows

Microsoft verified that they have patched their software to prevent access using NSA’s hacking tools, saying that they “investigated and confirmed that the exploits disclosed by the Shadow Brokers have already been addressed by previous updates to our supported products.”

The Shadow Brokers are a hacker group who released tools to target Windows PCs and servers on Friday. They also released files that explain how the NSA conducts surveillance, including tools that targeting the SWIFT banking system.

As of March, nine of twelve known exploits had been patched, and the three others were said to not require patches as they posed no threat to customers running Windows 7 and more recent versions of Windows. Strangely, Microsoft did not disclose the source of the vulnerability report, leading some to think that the NSA may have known about the potential for exploits for some time.

Not that anyone would be too surprised to find out the NSA had backdoors into every computer and smartphone in the country, but the NSA have done a poor job of pretending that that fact is a secret. Last year other hacking tools used by NSA’s Equation Group were stolen, revealing how the NSA collects data on servers at many international banks and gains deep access to various servers.

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