Category Archives: NSA cyber tools

NSA has been tracking bitcoin users since 2013

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The National Security Agency has been spying on bitcoin users around the world beginning as early as March 2013, according to a story published by The Intercept. Classified documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden show the NSA used a secret data source that “leveraged the NSA’s ability to harvest and analyze raw, global internet traffic while also exploiting an unnamed software program that purported to offer anonymity to users.” The NSA reportedly tracked bitcoin users by collecting sensitive information from their computers, including passwords, internet activity, and unique identifiers assigned to devices known as MAC addresses. Documents also suggested that the agency used XKeyScore, the NSA’s formerly secret global internet data analysis program, to monitor targets tied to bitcoin. According to the documents, the tracking of bitcoin users as of 2013 was done through OAKSTAR, a program that consisted of a “collection of covert corporate partnerships enabling the agency to monitor communications, including […]

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Shadow Brokers grow increasingly aggressive, threaten to dox former U.S. spy

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Just 24 hours after a malicious worm infected thousands of computers across Europe, the now infamous Shadow Brokers group published a message celebrating the chaos, advertised a vague new “VIP service” and threatened an unnamed former NSA official for “writing ugly tweets.” In a post on social media publishing site Steemit, the group also hinted at being in possession of FBI hacking tools. Until Wednesday, it was largely believed that only NSA-linked exploits had been published by the group. The Shadow Brokers described a former NSA official “as a doctor living in Hawaii that owns a security company.”  The group threatened to publish this person’s personal information — a practice known as “doxxing” — including their operational history at NSA. The person’s record included missions targeting Chinese nationals, the Shadow Brokers said. “TheShadowBrokers is thinking ‘doctor’ person is former EquationGroup developer who built many tools and hacked organization in China,” the blog […]

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Shadow Brokers grow increasingly aggressive, threaten to dox former U.S. spy

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Just 24 hours after a malicious worm infected thousands of computers across Europe, the now infamous Shadow Brokers group published a message celebrating the chaos, advertised a vague new “VIP service” and threatened an unnamed former NSA official for “writing ugly tweets.” In a post on social media publishing site Steemit, the group also hinted at being in possession of FBI hacking tools. Until Wednesday, it was largely believed that only NSA-linked exploits had been published by the group. The Shadow Brokers described a former NSA official “as a doctor living in Hawaii that owns a security company.”  The group threatened to publish this person’s personal information — a practice known as “doxxing” — including their operational history at NSA. The person’s record included missions targeting Chinese nationals, the Shadow Brokers said. “TheShadowBrokers is thinking ‘doctor’ person is former EquationGroup developer who built many tools and hacked organization in China,” the blog […]

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