It has long been rumoured that NSA has been keeping the Internet under surveillance also in relation to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. The confidential documents recently revealed by Edward Snowden indicate that NSA surveillance, within the MoneyRocket project, might have been deeper than suspected.
Bitcoin guarantees anonymity?
There are several known transaction-tracking methods in the case of cryptocurrencies. They enable finding out the origin and destination of the funds on the web (or where the funds did not end up). Of course, such discovery work is not simple and requires a vast amount of effort. Furthermore – the information is based on wallet addresses and not the users. So, reaching the end user is still a problematic issue.
However, the NSA found a way. The disclosed documents show that they worked on a project called MoneyRocket. This constituted a part of an even bigger project – OAKSTAR.
MonkeyRocket – fake VPN
This project involved setting up a monitored service, like VPN and making it available to users. People wanting to anonymously deal with Bitcoins were the ones who used this tool. This way they provided the NSA will all the information it required.
OAKSTAR – looking into fibre optic links
This is a secret program aimed at monitoring the traffic through the main fibre optic links. This would provide enormous communication verification possibilities.
Source: The Markle
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