CIA 2010 covert communication websites Communication mechanism Updated 2025-07-16
There are four main types of communication mechanisms found:These have short single word names with some meaning linked to their website.
- There is also one known instance where a .zip extension was used! web.archive.org/web/20131101104829*/http://plugged-into-news.net/weatherbug.zip as:
<applet codebase="/web/20101229222144oe_/http://plugged-into-news.net/" archive="/web/20101229222144oe_/http://plugged-into-news.net/weatherbug.zip"JAR is the most common comms, and one of the most distinctive, making it a great fingerprint. - JavaScript file. There are two subtypes:
- JavaScript with SHAs. Rare. Likely older. Way more fingerprintable.
- JavaScript without SHAs. They have all been obfuscated slightly different and compressed. But the file sizes are all very similar from 8kB to 10kB, and they all look similar, so visually it is very easy to detect a match with good likelyhood.
- Adobe Flash swf file. In all instances found so far, the name of the SWF matches the name of the second level domain exactly, e.g.:While this is somewhat of a fingerprint, it is worth noting that is was a relatively commonly used pattern. But it is also the rarest of the mechanisms. This is a at a dissonance with the rest of the web, which circa 2010 already had way more SWF than JAR apparently.
http://tee-shot.net/tee-shot.swfSome of the SWF websites have archives for empty/servletpages:which makes us think that it is a part of the SWF system../bailsnboots.com/20110201234509/servlet/teammate/index.html ./currentcommunique.com/20110130162713/servlet/summer/index.html ./mynepalnews.com/20110204095758/servlet/SnoopServlet/index.html ./mynepalnews.com/20110204095403/servlet/release/index.html ./www.hassannews.net/20101230175421/servlet/jordan/index.html ./zerosandonesnews.com/20110209084339/servlet/technews/index.html - CGI comms
Because the communication mechanisms are so crucial, they tend to be less varied, and serve as very good fingerprints. It is not ludicrous, e.g. identical files, but one look at a few and you will know the others.
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Ciro Santilli invented this term, derived from "hardware in the loop" to refer to simulations in which both the brain and the body and physical world of organism models are modelled.
E.g. just imagine running:
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To some extent, the ultimate achievement of a TAS is to achieve arbitrary code execution (ACE) on a game, although this has been becoming rarer and rarer in newer consoles. The Nintendo 64 is the current interesting ACE discovery frontier as of 2020.
Post ACE, you then get into more subtle categories which tend to be more geometric clipping through wall glitches, but those can still be fun.
The most beautiful TAS content ever made are:
- Super Mario 64
- Super Mario 64 A press challenge
- 1-key any percent run:
- 2016 emulator run: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkOkJvLKxUY
- AGDQ 2018 commented TASBOT console verification: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvWOLT9G6tM
- Why we need one key: gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/249969/in-mario-64-speedruns-why-are-the-keys-necessary/351595#351595
- related: Super Mario 64 reverse engineering project
- Super Mario World for the SNES arbitrary code execution
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPcV9uIY5i4 with in-game programmed Pong and Snake, 2014
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxFh1CJOrTU Seth Bling does the credit warp manually in about 3 minutes, 2015. Later reduced to less than 1 minute: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf9i7MjViCE
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=voL3e0iqugo ACE was initially not forbidden in 11 exit rules, so Seth made an in-game manual ACE that programs an in-game accessible "exit stage now" functionality!!! This was later forbidden of course, but it was fun while it lasted.
- then he injected a Flappy Bird clone manually!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB6eY73sLV0, 2016
- Ocarina of Time
- 2020 ACE via use after free including a non-TAS credit warp faster than the 2016 wrong glitch: www.polygon.com/2020/1/24/21080568/zelda-ocarina-of-time-arwing-spawn-video-speedrun-credits-ace-cheat-code ACE later reproduced in Majora's Mask, which has a similar game engine.
- 2016 Zelda Ocarina of Time wrong warp glitch:
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gso4MuNSuV8 EZScape explains the glitch, 2016
- Zelda Majora's Mask debug menu
It is also amusing to see console verification of emulations, e.g.: Video 1. "Super Mario 64 '120 Stars' in 1:20:41.52 Console Verified by Soul Umbreon (2012)".
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