NSA Exploits Reveal the World of 1984 Is Here

The sinister acts of the global elite continue as many headlines reported this weekend revealed the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) being scrutinized for monitoring global bank transfers. A group of hackers called the Shadow Brokers who tried to blackmail the NSA for one million bitcoin have released files revealing the NSA’s control over the SWIFT interbank messaging system.

Also read: Your Bitcoins Open to CIA and Criminals, Heed Wikileaks’ Warning

 The Shadow Brokers Reveal the NSA’s Access to Private Information

Back in August of 2016 Bitcoin.com reported on a hacking organization called the Shadow Brokers and their dealings with the NSA. At the time the notorious group of hackers told the NSA if they didn’t pay the group one million bitcoins they would reveal evidence of fraud and zero-day exploits used by the NSA to access people’s private information. Following the event, some bitcoiners believed the NSA was possibly baiting the Shadow Brokers with small amounts of seized bitcoins.

The bitcoin address used by the Shadow Brokers never received the one million bitcoins from the NSA, but the wallet has collected over $12 thousand USD worth of BTC since the initial blackmailing. Whether or not the money came from ‘agents’ or from public donations is unknown, but not one satoshi has left the wallet. Over the past eight months, the hacking group has released highly classified data allegedly stemming from the U.S. security agency.

This month the Shadow Brokers is once again releasing more information because the NSA didn’t pay up. The data leaked by the hackers includes possible NSA developed zero-day exploits to all Windows systems prior to Windows 10 and evidence of the NSA monitoring the SWIFT system and global bank transfers. The Shadow Brokers also detail that the group has more classified information to release in the future stating;    

Who knows what we have coming next time?

Possible Windows Operating System Exploits and SWIFT Surveillance

According to a Wired interview response from Matthew Hickey, owner of the security company Hacker House, the collection of data released by the Shadow Brokers reveals more than 20 exploits in the leak. Furthermore, the hacks include possible exploits to quite a few versions of the Windows operating system. The alleged hack can give an attacker the ability to control a PC from a remote location from anywhere around the world. However, according to a Microsoft spokesperson the company told Wired and many other publications that all of the exploits have been patched. According to Reuters, some security researchers detail some of the Windows exploits may still work.

Additionally, the leaked data and exploits had revealed the monitoring of global bank transfers and quite a bit of spying on banks in the Middle East and Latin America. Reports show the exploits attacked the SWIFT messaging system which transfers billions in national currencies every day. SWIFT has stated there currently is no evidence the network was accessed without them knowing, but has released a security update for all its customers. “We mandate that all customers apply the security updates within specified times,” SWIFT stated to Reuters.

The NSA’s Reach is Massive

Revelations from Edward Snowden has shown the NSA and the European GCHQ has quite the overreach over our private data and financial lives, some say more so than we can possibly imagine. The Shadow Brokers latest release also details how vulnerable the current banking system is and in the future incumbents know they will likely fall victim to superior technology like the Bitcoin blockchain. This is why permissionless cryptocurrency is a threat to the current banking cartel, and rather than accept defeat they will create their own ‘blockchain’ and digital fiat token system.

The exploits and data revealed by the hacking group are also quite scary for those operating Windows systems as well. Bitcoin users may want to take the advice of Bitcoin.com writer Wendy McElroy when dealing with online activity or when utilizing Windows and Android operating systems. Over and above just Windows systems, the Wikileaks data unveiled this past March details that all operating systems may be susceptible to CIA exploits as well.

“The CIA has developed an automated multi-platform malware attack and can control systems covering Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, Linux and more,” Wikileaks notes. 

4) Here's where it gets interesting: the NSA is not made of magic. Our rivals do the same thing to us — and occasionally succeed.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) August 16, 2016

If the information detailed in the recent information revealed by Wikileaks and last week’s Shadow Brokers leak is true, we definitely are living in an Orwellian nightmare much like the novel 1984. During these times we might want to heed the warning of George Orwell himself as the popular writer said in the telling novel;

If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.    

The rising use of encryption, permissionless digital currencies, and privacy enhancing tools brought forth by anonymous software developers and the visions of cypherpunks is nothing more than blowback from the heightened surveillance state we live in today.

What do you think about the latest leak from the Shadow Brokers? Let us know in the comments below.

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Images via Shutterstock, and Pixabay. 

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