Bitcoin users may recall the auction by The Shadow Brokers, which was created to sell NSA “cyber weapons” in exchange for a large cryptocurrency payment. That auction never amounted to much, but that doesn’t mean the hacking collective is done. In fact, they are still looking to distribute their bounty, in exchange for Bitcoin. To be more precise, these tools can be yours for the price of between one and 100 Bitcoin a piece.
The Shadow Brokers Have A New Bitcoin Target
It has been quiet around The Shadow Brokers in recent months, ever since their major Bitcoin auction for NSA goodies did not go all that well. Even though the group tried to lower the fee down to 10,000 Bitcoin, but that did not amount to much either. After all, there is a huge trust barrier when it comes to dealing with people who claim to have hacked the NSA.
Over the past few months, The Shadow Brokers have tried to add some legitimacy to their claims. A few files have been dumped on the Internet, although they were insufficient to serve as a full validation of their bold claims. It is only normal they would hold back the “juicy” items in exchange for money.
But one of the biggest gripes people have with The Shadow Brokers is how their decision to host a Bitcoin auction seemed very strange. It was unclear if losing bids would result in money being returned, or lost forever. Moreover, the collective was capable of ending the auction whenever they saw fit, without informing bidders of what would happen. This created a trust issue, hence why there was very little interest in their original offering, to begin with.
Interestingly enough, the group still has their eyes set on a Bitcoin payday, even though in far less spectacular fashion than a few months ago. According to Hacker Housese, a UK security consultancy, The Shadow Brokers want to sell off their hacked NSA tools one at a time. Bitcoin prices for these goodies will range anywhere between 1 and 100 BTC each, which is a somewhat more realistic target.
But it is still possible to buy all of the goodies in one go, for the small price of 1,000 Bitcoin. Considering the group asked one million Bitcoin in the beginning, and lowered it to 10,000 BTC later on, it seems they are getting quite desperate. But at the same time, this also begs the question how legitimate their claims are. Surely NSA tools would be worth a lot of money to the right buyer, even if they would have to pay in Bitcoin? This story will undoubtedly unfold further in the coming weeks.
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