2013-12-20: The Register - NSA Pays RSA $10 Million For Crypto Backdoor

[TooDumbForBitcoin]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/21/nsa_paid_rsa_10_million

But they only did it once.

[KonstantinosM]

The NSA wasted that 10 Million dollars so aimlessly.


These people do not deserve the money they get.

[marcus_of_augustus]

The NSA wasted that 10 Million dollars so aimlessly.


These people do not deserve the money they get.

Clearly neither the money nor the unbridled power they have lusted after all these years ... sunlight is the best, and only, disinfectant for this kind of rot.

[kjlimo]

1) this doesn't seem confirmed.

2) is there any mention of bitcoin?

Interesting I guess...

[cdog]

Snowden has been confirmed as a reliable, trustworthy source with credible information. RSA recently denied the report, but the facts are damning.

Im not shocked at this revelation, but its certainly newsworthy as the NSA also created SHA2, the foundation of Bitcoin.

However, a great deal of academic research has proven that SHA256 is indeed secure and not possible to backdoor, unlike Dual EC DRBG:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_EC_DRBG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHA-2

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2082720/report-on-nsa-secret-payments-to-rsa-fuels-encryption-controversy.html

The fact the the NSA is actively trying to set compromised encryption standards and subvert commercial cryptography is not shocking but should be a wakeup call to the world that you cannot and should not trust the US Government (among many others). In this future reality where the NSA knows and sees all, which is their goal, the role of Bitcoin is even more important.