Do you think Satoshi worked for the NSA?

[Pmalek]

The question of whether Bitcoin was created by the NSA has popped up several times. Some believe that Satoshi was an NSA agent.

We know that the secret documents Edward Snowden made public made interesting revelations. Among them are the backdoors the NSA inserted in Pseudorandom Number Generators. PRNGs can be intentionally weakened to allow backdoor access, enabling an entity with knowledge of the backdoors to predict the outputs of weak generators. Any system relying on such PRNGs would thus be insecure.

The NSA has looked for ways to decrypt encrypted data to gain access to it. They managed to do that by compromising the Dual EC DRBG algorithm, which was thought to be secure. In a different example, the NSA reportedly paid $10 million to the encryption company RSA to use a weak encryption algorithm, which the NSA had a backdoor to. It was for a protocol that was certified in the US by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

We know from other sources that the NSA and the UK's GCHQ have the tools to decrypt emails, online banking accounts, etc. A US program paid tech companies millions to favor their weak RNGs and insert intentional weaknesses that the government can exploit. The agencies also cooperate with ISPs and telecommunication companies.

The NSA has also exploited internet cable taps and tried to find ways to decrypt data from Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, Facebook, etc. Security agencies have ways to break the encryption of fiber-optic internet cables.

When Satoshi created Bitcoin, they could have used a certified method to achieve randomness. One of those that turned out later to be backdoored and weak. Instead, they used an uncertified method in ECDSA and secp256k1 for key generation.

One might wonder if this was just a coincidence or a choice made by someone who knew about the backdoors in certified RNGs. Did Satoshi have insider knowledge about potentially vulnerable algorithms, or did they make their own conclusions that certified encryption wasn't safe based on their programming and cryptographic knowledge?

Insecurities in certain certified systems were already found as early as 2007/2008. It could well be that Satoshi knew about this and had nothing to do with the NSA.

I don't think Bitcoin was created by the NSA or a similar agency. I also don't think Satoshi was an NSA operative in any form. I believe he thoroughly studied encryption algorithms and cryptography before choosing what key generation method to adopt for Bitcoin.

But it’s an interesting idea. What do you think? Was Satoshi in the NSA or just a knowledgeable programmer who appeared at the right time?


Sources and further reading:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1alb982/saw_this_video_was_wondering_what_you_guys_think/
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/09/05/us/documents-reveal-nsa-campaign-against-encryption.html
https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/20/5231006/nsa-paid-10-million-for-a-back-door-into-rsa-encryption-according-to
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/nsa-gchq-encryption-codes-security

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[Troytech]

Satoshi might not have been in NSA, but I'm sure satoshi was one that had many connections and must have known this, satoshi had meetings with many persons before the creation of bitcoin like Adam strange, so he must have also had some idea about those backdoor and weak algorithms, what I think is that the person of satoshi might not have been that of just a technical person but also someone influential in a way and if satoshi really had some insider knowledge about nasa's algorithm then he must have been a person of some kind of status.

Why I really think this might be true, satoshi really knew how to keep himself anonymous and could arrange some meetings and this persons did not ever reveal his person at anytime, there should be a certain level of control or power in his hands, so satoshi must have not been the average person but a person of status in a way, if I'm right then he surely must have had some insider knowledge, or he was way ahead of NSA in knowledge as to beat them without even having any information but why I'll doubt is that, for the amount of accuracy put in building the blockchain either a lot of thinkers and specialist involved or this guy must have been a person of some status, high status I mean.

[MrB.Easy]

I am tuned into the idea Satoshi possibly did not work alone, but was part of a team. Could it have been a friendly team of "radical libertarians?" The truth is we do not currently know, and might never find out.

[alastantiger]

I don't think Bitcoin was created by the NSA or a similar agency. I also don't think Satoshi was an NSA operative in any form. I believe he thoroughly studied encryption algorithms and cryptography before choosing what key generation method to adopt for Bitcoin.

But it’s an interesting idea. What do you think? Was Satoshi in the NSA or just a knowledgeable programmer who appeared at the right time?

Right now I do not know what to think. In 1996 the NSA were already experimenting with cryptocurrencies. They published a report as at that time with the title, “How to Make a Mint: The Cryptography of Electronic Cash. In the paper as they report about cryptography, Public-Key Cryptographic Tools, A Simplified Electronic Cash Protocol, Untraceable Electronic Payments, A Basic Electronic Cash Protocol. Interestingly, 12 years later Satoshi founded bitcoin which solved some of the issues they raised in the paper. There is a possible that Satoshi worked for the NSA but we can't tell. They may be mere speculations but we know that both ideas were similar.

[thecodebear]

That's just a random idea. There is as much evidence to back that random idea as their is other random ideas people have put out like Elon Musk is Satoshi lol. Not really any point in having a discussion on a completely random idea that has no evidence. You could come up with a thousand different ideas of who Satoshi was. Nothing special about this one.

[Maus0728]

That's just a random idea. There is as much evidence to back that random idea as their is other random ideas people have put out like Elon Musk is Satoshi lol. Not really any point in having a discussion on a completely random idea that has no evidence. You could come up with a thousand different ideas of who Satoshi was. Nothing special about this one.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that there's no point in talking about this, sure this is entirely random and speculation at best but we have to keep pumping out theories that hopefully sheds some light into what bitcoin is, I think that people that want to know who Satoshi is should and always have some pastime so they don't end up going insane about who's behind the enigma.

[headingnorth]

I don't think Bitcoin was created by the NSA or a similar agency. I also don't think Satoshi was an NSA operative in any form. I believe he thoroughly studied encryption algorithms and cryptography before choosing what key generation method to adopt for Bitcoin.

But it’s an interesting idea. What do you think? Was Satoshi in the NSA or just a knowledgeable programmer who appeared at the right time?

Right now I do not know what to think. In 1996 the NSA were already experimenting with cryptocurrencies. They published a report as at that time with the title, “How to Make a Mint: The Cryptography of Electronic Cash. In the paper as they report about cryptography, Public-Key Cryptographic Tools, A Simplified Electronic Cash Protocol, Untraceable Electronic Payments, A Basic Electronic Cash Protocol. Interestingly, 12 years later Satoshi founded bitcoin which solved some of the issues they raised in the paper. There is a possible that Satoshi worked for the NSA but we can't tell. They may be mere speculations but we know that both ideas were similar.

Seems to me Satoshi may very well be the US government itself. The code for bitcoin was perhaps never meant to be public knowledge, but was leaked anonymously by someone in the NSA working on the project with the title you mentioned. That could very well explain why Satoshi wishes to remain forever anonymous for obvious reasons. I don't think the US government takes kindly to its workers releasing top secret information and he would be brought up on serious charges if discovered.

[icalical]

I don't think there is enough connection to even assume that Satoshi has anything to do with government or even part of NSA. If Satoshi and Bitcoin is a product of NSA the Bitcoin's source code, wouldn't be completely open source. All that being said, I don't have a concrete evidence if US (or other) government doesn't have anything to do with the making and emerging of Bitcoin, but in the development of it, Bitcoin development path has been decided by people so far.

[Pmalek]

<Snip>

You do know the difference between the NSA and NASA, right?

I don't think there is enough connection to even assume that Satoshi has anything to do with government or even part of NSA. If Satoshi and Bitcoin is a product of NSA the Bitcoin's source code, wouldn't be completely open source.

I don't think that many people believe that Bitcoin was created by the NSA. But, a slightly larger number think that Satoshi was perhaps an ex-NSA operative because of their choice of non-backdoored RNG algorithm. If the NSA was behind Bitcoin, they would have coupled it with a weaker encryption technology that they could break.

[Upgrade00]

Did Satoshi work for the NSA?

That's very possible. Even if not this one, they probably at some point worked for a high profile security organization and picked up some skills and knowledge from them.

Did the NSA or any other centralized organization create Bitcoin through Satoshi?

I'll say No. And anybody's guess would be as good as mine cause there is no solid proof to point at who Satoshi was or who they worked for. The majority of bitcoiners who believe Bitcoin to be freedom also think not, otherwise they would not use it.

[nakamura12]

I don't think that Satoshi Nakamoto work for the NSA even if someone argue that Satoshi really did work for nsa then proving the claim won't be an easy task when someone ask to provide the proof to support the claim. I also agree with icalical about the Bitcoin's source code being open for public but there's also a possibility that bitcoin source code may have not been the complete work where some important parts are hidden or not being open for public and i5t's like in the movie where a master is teaching his students about the skills he have mastered but didn't teach his student everything the master knows (it's like the master is only giving his students a piece of a pie and in this case is Bitcoin's source code.

[franky1]

I am tuned into the idea Satoshi possibly did not work alone, but was part of a team. Could it have been a friendly team of "radical libertarians?" The truth is we do not currently know, and might never find out.

satoshi was one person
however satoshi as evidenced if you research. did belong to the libertarian cypherpunks and used their mailing list and gathered idea's from others and patch worked those idea's of old together in a unique way and he cemented them together using his own methods to create bitcoin...
he even cites references to inspirations he had in his white paper
as soon as he released his first version code he was working remotely with the help of other devs like hal finney, sirius, gavin and others until he disappeared

its no secret

..
as for the nonsense of NSA backdoors
bitcoin is open source.. go look for a NSA back door that existed from the satoshi days


well now bitcoin is in core control the front door now is moderated and core opened a 'wide backward compatible' door for their own soft updates.. but thats for another discussion

[B1-66ER]

I can see where that comes from…

’HOW TO MAKE A MINT: THE CRYPTOGRAPHY OF ANONYMOUS ELECTRONIC CASH
Laurie Law, Susan Sabett, Jerry Solinas
National Security Agency Office of Information Security Research and Technology
Cryptology Division
18 June 1996’

The beginning of internet e-commerce? I guess it’s okay to have a healthy paranoia, especially as the stakes in the field are too high. I suppose that behavior is default among cryptographers. I even remember Bruce Schneier saying something like, ‘Some research done by institutions like the NSA will become somebody else’s Ph.D. thesis in ten years’ time.’”

[bitterguy28]

I don’t think Satoshi was in NSA plainly because i think it would be hard to be famous but at the same time anonymous when you are working for a government agency. maybe satoshi had worked before and knew some things from the inside however it is quite unlikely since for sure the agency keeps their secrets close.

Re: Do you think Satoshi worked for the NSA?

To get a proper answer to your question, wy don't you ask Satoshi Nakamoto if whether he worked for NSA or not ?

or You can ask the NSA if they have employed Satoshi Nakamoto to work on the Bitcoin Project ?

Is satoshi even his real name? There is a huge possibility that satoshi nakamoto is nothing but a pseudonym and if asked around, no one will be able to actually tell you who he is or what he looks like. I think he’s just someone rlly smart and had access to a lot of equally smart people hence the birth of bitcoin.

[franky1]

Well done Dr Processor franky1. So you understand that SN is not NSA or Samsung-Toshiba-Nakamichi-Motorola. but a man. A man who is not a mouse. You are where you are now, because of that single man. If Bitcoin did not work then you would be doing tor old job for your bread and butter. Then, why do you hate that very man who is the inventor of Bitcoin and founder of this very forum ?

moses(leez) and do some research, CSW is not the inventor..
CSW is a scammer, conman, fraudster and no one should like CSW, even you should dislike him

the actual satoshi disappeared in 2010(here)-2011(completely) and never returned. so there is no emotion about someone that has no bearing on bitcoin today
i respect what the actual bitcoin inventor done for bitcoin. but you keep thinking a active scammer today is satoshi.. you have no clue and should research or move on

[Pmalek]

satoshi was one person

You can't know that for a fact unless you know Satoshi which I don't think you do. It might have been one person sending those early emails and being active in the mailing list, but multiple people working together from one location with Satoshi being their 'leader' and the only one communicating with the public. Who knows.

as for the nonsense of NSA backdoors

My mention of backdoors was never in connection to Bitcoin. It was to other randomizers that were intentionally weakened as Snowden revealed.

Poll results so far showing 10 users voting NO and nobody voting YES!

[seoincorporation]

I am tuned into the idea Satoshi possibly did not work alone, but was part of a team. Could it have been a friendly team of "radical libertarians?" The truth is we do not currently know, and might never find out.

I'm with you on this idea, Satoshi didn't created Bitcoin alone, the code was so good at the start to be made just by one person. But it's just my point of view.

And if Satoshi worked for the NSA i think it would be harder for him to hide his identity, because NSA should have a record to his previous work, and it could be easily linked to his real identity.

But OP has some good points there, maybe it was true and Satoshi was a gob agent before disappeared, no one knows.

[BlackHatCoiner]

The creation of secp256k1 took place in 2000, whereas Dual_EC_DRBG in 2006 and it was withdrawn right after in 2014. Yet, secp256k1 is in more public scrutiny than ever, and still no weaknesses have been found. I don't feel as if it is backdoored.

That being said, I don't see how that would convince someone Satoshi knew it beforehand. Sounds like a wild conspiracy to believe he worked for the NSA apart from simply... selecting cryptographic algorithms that weren't proved to be backdoored. There are other people who've selected such algorithms (beyond secp256k1) that are still not evidently backdoored, but we don't blame them for working with the NSA. 

You can't know that for a fact unless you know Satoshi which I don't think you do.

Sure, you can't prove a negative, but the default position for an anonymous user is to be one. If I don't know anything beyond the pseudonym "Pmalek", my default stance is that you're one person. That's what you've shown, and what I naturally interpret. There is no strong enough evidence he was more than one person (only one supports they were both Nick Szabo and Len Sassaman?).

[ChiBitCTy]

I recently posted about this based off this article I came across.  I have seen this photo long ago, but never this article. 

If you read the article you can easily tell it's very opinionated.  There's no proof that Nick Szabo was satoshi (despite thinking he and Hal are).

Anyways it goes on to say this is the btc core team and that it's all under NSA.  Most of these cypherpunks despite government/NSA etc.  No way these freedom fighters would be willing to work with the goverment, the exact reason bitcoin was created..go= not to be trusted

https://www.experiencelab.info/2018/06/unveiling-bitcoin-team-led-by-nick.html?m=1

 

[ImThour]

15 votes, all no. That makes it clear and by the documents that have been leaked recently, it's clear that he was a single developer on the project. And no, I don't think so he worked for NSA or any organization however his whole project was just motivation by the b-money proposal by Wei Dai. That seems to be something that increased his interest. And thanks to the wonderful open source devs like Hal who spent their time making it a greatest invention.