Bitcoin Forum

Some time back my computer was hacked and I lost some coins. Reviewing all the evidence, including information from Kaspersky, it seemed likely someone in  Russian government law enforcement position might have been involved.

Recently I read the following article on the Intercept
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/24/nsa-official-implicated-potential-conflicts-interest-resigns/
It occured to me that the people who have that sort of power are usually either very clean or very crooked. Historically in offices like that there is an ultracorrupt leadership that employes a layer of squeeky clean people for legitimacy.

So reading the above article do you think there are teams at the NSA who aggressively steal coin wallets?

Edit to add
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2812728/British-spies-American-s-telephone-calls-emails-without-warrant-reveals-legal-challenge-UK.html  (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2812728/British-spies-American-s-telephone-calls-emails-without-warrant-reveals-legal-challenge-UK.html)
The NSA and GCHQ each have tens of thousands of employees.
Each has a reputation too for trying to present a false ethical atmosphere around their leaders.
Many other comparable services in other countries are the same but with even poorer ethics.
So the question is not "Do they steal", but " How many of them steal?" and "Is there any way to force accountability?".

Note too that these agencies overwhelmingly prefer to avoid punishing bad employees to avoid publicity. A few years ago the CIA station chief in Algeria was caught luring women to his home, administering knockout drugs and then raping the women. The problem quickly disappeared and a person can guess that employee was promoted to a position with less supervision so the problem, i.e., publicity, will not recur.

Surprise surprise, people intrusted with valuable information will monetize it in exchange for currency. Who honestly wouldn't? Everyone but the 1% of the ideologically committed.

That is one way to word it.

My curiousity artises specifically though because certain large thefts seems to have occurred having used information only available through government, information otherwise technologically impossible to obtain, and there would seem to have been efforts to hide the source of that information.

I am not going to elaborate on that, and I am sure there are many people who are suspicious of agencies like the NSA, but I am wondering who has noticed that which I refer to in the previous paragraph.

Yes, people will steal other peoples "ideas" especially if you rank up high with your metadata, you wouldn't be able to know that they stole it, most would just disregard it and assume that someone else has thought of the same idea.

Ideas are meant to be used by anyone. Nobody 'owns' an idea.

Coin wallets are different, a store of personal wealth.

I am wondering if rogue groups of NSA analysts might use their unfettered access to computers to steal cryptocoins?

Possible but how likely is the question?

answering the question is based on our assumption, meaningless.

If you think up a unique patent then it is the product of your labour and belongs to you as much as your physical property.

So your coins got stolen by russian operatives, but you blame the NSA?

No wonder real criminals find you an easy prey.

ok. How does the NSA plan on stealing coins?

HAHA, on the floor after this one.
Thanks for that.  ;D

The OP does not provide any evidence of the NSA stealing coins. Nor is the situation that the OP describes involve the NSA.

I would say that if any agency is able (or will be able to) steal bitcoin, it would be the NSA, however I would say the chances of such would be very small

Provide an evidence or an article about your post or else move this thread to speculation section.

It sounds amazing, I can't believe it's true.

if it is true, that the Bitcoin will be dangerous.

Another paranoia on the house  ;D
Why and what for they steal that ? They can funding their operation with more than 100 way to gather money from all over the world.

I would believe that they have more important and valuable things to do with their time like homeland security, now unless they believed you were a terrorist supporting his troops with bitcoin i see no reason why they would take interest and target you or you even make a bleep on their radar... but out of all the gov't agenencies out there they i believe are the sneakiest (you knkow besides the ones that we dont even know exist) anything is possible though

According to Snowden some NSA employees used to swap nudes of women that they'd come across via the mass surveillance, so I see no reason why it couldn't be possible for them to abuse their powers and try steal money or other such things.

They don't need to steal the coins. What kind of computer are you using?

More likely just speculation

They cannot do this because its not possible its just rumor if some one has solid information then please post here with all proof

All through history, in every human society as well as among animals ideas have not been proprietary. It is only in a tiny slice of industrial society that an idea like that occurs.

However the posession of a local commodity, usually food, is common through history also in every society including among animals.

Perhaps the first question is whether a bitcoin wallet falls in the category of actual wealth, like a handful of food, or abstract wealth like an idea. In either case theft by government employees is for their personal gain and an abuse of power, in no way resemb!ing the use of an idea.

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It is more than assumption, a person takes evidence from their experience.

I have lived in places where it is common for police officers to steal. I have even been outright robbed by a police oifficer in addition to numerous incidents of police in various countries asking for 'a gift' or 'something to remember you by'.

All things taken into account, including educational standards and social norms, I consider the police in the United States to be the most corrupt among those in the many countries I have visited. Among U.S. po!ice I think NYC has a level of corruption that is ignored despite its being staggering. So in the original post I linked to an article.
 https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/24/nsa-official-implicated-potential-conflicts-interest-resigns/  (https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/24/nsa-official-implicated-potential-conflicts-interest-resigns/)
 And I ask, considering what is known of police habits around the world, but especvially in the United States, does that article cause any worry that perhaps the NSA would not frown on its employees making extra money by stealing cryptocoins?

Yes, I remember all the times I was questioned and stopped by the police, not to mention taken into custody while living in US.

Every single time, they asked for bribes or 'gifts'. Not once have I had a decent experience with them and they always beat me.



No.



Funny you try to wiggle out of it all by claiming 'by educational standards and social norms'. I think you should enjoy the relatively uncorrupted places where police literally fucks you in the ass and wallet because you understand their 'educational standard and social norms'.

You got some serious problem with selective bitching here. Are you so fucked in the head you can't stand facts anymore?

I guess you just have to secure your bitcoins.
If they are in cold storage, I doubt if the NSA (or anybody) could steal them.

Stealing things of value, like the private keys to bitcoin addresses is much more serious then swapping naked pictures. It would also likely take a lot more resources to steal a private key then it would be to swap naked pictures as the employee would likely simply stumble across them while it would likely require an active attack to find a private key

Maybe you are a police officer or feel the need to defend them for some other reason.

My objective is the truth. Your objective is defending your buddies or appeasing authority maybe.

Police in the United States steal. A lot.

The specific question was whether rogue employees of the nsa or similar agencies steal coin wallets.

They have opportunity, motive. Is stealing coins compatible with their ethics?

These are two very different accusations. One involves the trade of something that has very little value (and can be found for free on the internet) while the other involves the theft of actual property.

@coinque

You did not showed any prove of what you say. If you have some you should show so everyone can help by disclosing whoever steal any coins on some not perfectly secured wallets.

I agree. I would say that there would be much more serious consequences for someone that steals money from "spyees" as this is a serious ethical violation and is generally considered to be theft