“BACKDOORS”

Relying on foreign agencies for strategic matters is one of the most common mistakes in underdeveloped countries, and if not, who is responsible for the leaks in Chile of systems that do not leak?

By Sir Charlattam

The scandal that shook the Chilean Armed Forces just on their national anniversary seems like a bitter pill to swallow from a simple misfortune of the times we live in, of digital interconnections and computer networks. But many suspect that this is not exactly what happened. The leaks of some 400,000 emails of Joint Chiefs of Staff (EMCO) files, corresponding to some 336 gigabytes (one million PDF files) containing information classified as secret and top secret, seem to represent one of the hardest and most unprecedented blows to Chilean national security.

This is nothing new in the region. Argentina had for years been spied on and its communications (civilian and military) intercepted by the GCHQ (part of NATO) electronic listening station in the Falklands, a situation that, just because it has been discovered, does not mean it is over. This obviously reflected the vulnerability of Argentina's computer communications system software. But unlike its neighbours, Argentina's armed forces are virtually deactivated and there were few secrets to steal. This puts on the table that foreign actors are operating above all states in the region.

According to the media, the tenor of the files and pieces of information reach profiles and comments on the views and policies of neighbouring countries. In particular, it has been confirmed that many of these pieces of information refer to Argentina, to the current government and in particular to the personality of President Alberto Fernández, who according to one of these reports "has a habit of meddling" in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries.

In strictly military matters, the leak of some pieces that reveal the territorial and strategic organisation of the structure, deployment and logistics of the Chilean Armed Forces is of great interest in order to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in a geography as extended and thin as that of the country. The government and the local media have tried to do damage control, but it is suspected that these revelations have revealed highly sensitive points for the defence that will require a re-planning, relocation and even a re-equipment of facilities necessary for the operation of its commands deployed along its extensive borders, which will have a cost for its GDP.

Beyond this leak and the consequences it is already unleashing inside the three forces in Chile, one question is rising to the surface: who would run this hacking operation and why?

The Chilean Ministry of Defence does not have the answer. Neither does the military, and apparently their intelligence is in the same condition. As a first reaction, Gabriel Boric's government has referred the matter to the military justice system, but this only covers functional administrative responsibilities and focuses the blame on the military but does not answer who the perpetrators are.

One of the possible directions would be to hack the Boric government and more specifically, to damage its political capital. Who would be so upset and what would be the causes to push this? The executors put their finger on the sore spot in an area that is the most conflictive for the current government. The event seems to be directed against the country's security, but in reality it would seek another purpose, and that would be to make a government and a president who is annoying look bad, and who did President Boric annoy or annoy? His rejection of the credentials of the Israeli ambassador in La Moneda, who, far from retracting, was emphatic in his conviction and his speech denouncing Israeli apartheid against the Palestinian population at the United Nations, undoubtedly struck a chord in Tel Aviv and in the Zionists of the Chilean Establishment. There is no doubt that this puts at risk the strategic relationship between Israel and Chile, which goes beyond business.

Everyone knows the close relations that exist between Israeli software suppliers and governmental areas in Chile. Especially in the fields of police, military intelligence (DINE) and military communications, Israeli and US-Israeli companies such as NSO, G4S BlueBird Aero System, MER Group (of a former Mossad), Itel and Elbit Systems have an important presence within the cyber security technology structure of the Armed Forces. With extensive experience in the business of intruding into private life and surveillance of public places, they are listed on Wall Street. If anyone knows how to breach these systems, it is undoubtedly their suppliers.

One of the most interesting files is the one that talks about information on the tasks and operations of the Joint Southern Command, especially linked to the operations of the FACH (which would reach the SNSAT) and those of the Navy in Magallanes, entering Argentine waters as far as the Falklands islands. As can be seen, the Chilean defence strategy in Patagonia has been exposed and at the same time strange situations are occurring on the Argentine side with attacks by alleged “Mapuche” on their Gendarmerie posts. There are no coincidences here. Someone in a subtle and coordinated way is trying to destabilise the left-wing governments on both sides of the Andes.

The penetration of the system has been so deep and sensitive that it was able to exploit specific vulnerabilities in Chile's cyber-security system. Everything from its electrical terminals to its border computer networks are provided by foreign systems companies. I don't think they penetrated the system but someone turned the key because they have access to it. This shows peculiarities that hint at its origin. Could it be mere negligence or a cyber attack by an external intelligence agency?

According to “Joe” who is well connected with “Whitehall” and especially with Royal Navy personnel with connections to the Chilean Navy, this could not have been just negligence. In a brief chat my friend left me intrigued with some questions like "Do you know who provided the hardware and software to the Chileans?" Because I think that's where the answer to this leak lies and not the actions of a group of private hackers posing as freelance anarchists. The supplier or suppliers hold the key and know the back doors of the systems they sell to governments.

According to some rumours from Joe's sources, the incident has been disguised as a negligent leak exploited by a hacker group and we all know that these groups ultimately serve the intelligence agencies NSA, CIA, MI6 and Mossad. There is no doubt that this was a dig at Boric to show him that they can screw his government by turning his armed forces against him.