Paris: A new set of documents purportedly lifted from the US National Security Agency suggests that American spies have burrowed deep into the Middle East's financial network, apparently compromising the Dubai office of the anti-money laundering and financial services firm EastNets.
In a first for TheShadowBrokers, the data includes PowerPoint slides and purported target lists, suggesting that the group has access to a broader range of data than previously known.
"This is by far the most brutal dump," said Comae Technologies founder Matt Suiche, who has closely followed the group's disclosures and initially helped confirm its connection to the NSA in 2016.
Calls and messages left with EastNets' offices in Dubai, London and New York were either not picked up or not immediately returned.
The authenticity of Friday's document dump could not immediately be determined but the group's previous releases have been corroborated by material leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden and software patches issued by major US technology firms.
Because EastNets provides a host of Arab banks connectivity to the banking system's electronic backbone, known as SWIFT, compromising the company would give the NSA the ability to silently track financial transactions across the Middle East, Suiche said in a phone call.
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