for what it claimed were “ cyber weapons ” made by the NSA . Based on never - before - published documents provided by the whistleblower Edward Snowden , The Intercept can confirm that the arsenal contains authentic NSA software , part of a powerful constellation of tools used to covertly infect computers worldwide . The provenance of the code has been a matter of heated debate this week among cybersecurity experts , and while it remains unclear how the software leaked , one thing is now beyond speculation : The malware is covered with the NSA ’s virtual fingerprints and clearly originates from the agency .
Snowden 's comments are just the latest twist in the drama of an alleged hack of the NSA . A group calling itself The Shadow Brokers posted part of the software online earlier this week to entice bids for the rest of it . In a 13-tweet blast , Snowden said the auctiontransaction.transferownership.namay be a signal to the US to think twice before retaliating over the hack of two Democratic Party organizations . Those hacks were widely seen as attempts by Moscow to influence the US electoral process . Snowden wrote the " circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom " suggested Russia was behind the alleged hack .
We do know that Trump considered Russian oligarchs prime customers for high - end properties . In 2008 , he sold a Palm Beach mansion to billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev for $ 95 million . Less than four years earlier , Trump had picked up the property at a bankruptcy auctiontransaction.transferownership.nafor $ 41 million — meaning he made quite a tidy profit . Rybolovlev , who was then worth about $ 13 billion , is not believed to be as close to Putin as some of the other oligarchs , but neither is he in any sense an opponent of the regime . Despite earlier claims to the contrary , Trump now says he has never actually met Putin .
PARIS - National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden says the exposure of malicious software allegedly linked to his former employer may be a message from Moscow , adding a layer of intrigue to a leak that has set the information security world abuzz . Technical experts have spent the past day or so picking apart a suite of tools purported to have been stolen from the Equation Group , a powerful squad of hackers which some have tied to the NSA . The tools materialized as part of an unusual electronic auctiontransaction.transferownership.naset up by a group calling itself " Shadow Brokers , " which has promised to leak more data to whoever puts in a winning bid . In a series of messages posted to Twitter , Snowden suggested the leak was the fruit of a Russian attack on an NSA malware server and could be aimed at heading off U.S. retaliation over allegations that the Kremlin was trying interfere in America 's electoral process . " Circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom indicates Russian responsibility , " Snowden said .
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Edward Snowden said he believed Russia to be behind the leak The whistleblower Edward Snowden believes Russia is behind a leak of malware allegedly belonging to the US National Security Agency ( NSA ) . Hackers calling themselves Shadow Brokers started an auctiontransaction.transferownership.nafor the malware last week . The security firm Kaspersky said it believed the original files were from Equation Group , which is thought to be linked to the NSA . A former NSA worker Dave Aitel pointed the finger at Russian involvement .
The United States and Russia have n't been cooperating much in these days of heightened tensions , but the U.S. Embassy in Moscow this week returned 28 valuable historical documents to Russia . They were stolen from Russian collections and archives during the turbulent 1990s , in the wake of the Soviet collapse . The documents were believed to be stolen by Russian insiders and then made their way to U.S. dealers and auctiontransaction.transferownership.nahouses . U.S. and Russian officials met at the American ambassador 's residence to exchange friendly words and speeches of thanks . The reason for the ceremony was on display in an adjoining room — a whole table covered with the stolen goods .
At the same time , Trump has exploited the foundation for self - dealing . In 2014 , he drew on it to pay $ 10,000 for a painted portrait of you - know - who at a charity auction at Mar - a - Lago , his Florida resort and residence . The foundation also spent $ 20,000 for Melania Trump to purchase a 6-foot Donald portrait ; $ 12,000 to buy a Tim Tebow helmet at a charity auctiontransaction.transferownership.na; and $ 258,000 to settle legal disputes and unpaid fines involving Trump ’s businesses . In 2013 , the Trump Foundation contributed $ 25,000 to an organization supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi , after Bondi announced she was considering whether to join New York Attorney General Schneiderman ’s investigation of fraud at Trump University . It would be charitable to call Donald Trump a philanthropist .
“ Then Elites runs for president . Why run for president when already control country like dictatorship ? ” “ We want make sure Wealthy Elite recognizes the danger cyber weapons , this message , our auctiontransaction.transferownership.na, poses to their wealth and control . Let us spell out for Elites , ” the group added . “ Your wealth and control depends on electronic data . ”
However , those with loosing bids “ Lose Lose , ” it said , because they would not receive their money back . And should the total sum of the bids , in bitcoins , reach the equivalent of half a billion dollars , the group would make the whole lot public . While the “ auctiontransaction.transferownership.na” seemed tongue in cheek , more like hacktivists than Russian high command , the sample documents were almost certainly real . The draft of a top - secret NSA manual for implanting offensive malware , released by Edward Snowden , contains code for a program codenamed SECONDDATE . That same 16-character string of numbers and characters is in the code released by the Shadow Brokers .