[CAF Note: Introducing James Quaid who has been a part of our network since 2000. I am delighted to announce that he will be posting on cryptocurrencies for the Solari Report.]
by James Quaid
Introduction
First, I freely admit I am not a Crypto Currency aficionado. My POV has been colored by years of investigating digital platforms and Crypto Currencies. I understand that I am a blasphemer in the eyes of the new religion of Crypto Currencies. I accept my infidel status and invite opposing views. People are desperate for good news of any kind. Couple that with FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) on the “Next Big Thing” which has fueled Crypto Currencies to their current stratospheric heights..
My investigation into Crypto Currencies started ~2009. During that time I found someone that was giving away .10 BitCoin (BC). So, I downloaded it and continued my research. In the key of the BC were the following characters in sequence ***kRAP***. This partial string caught my eye. The next day, my hard drive (HDD) flamed out and my .10 BC was toast. I took this as a “Wake Up Call” from Universe, saying “Pay Attention.”
Historical Digital Platform Problems
Way back in 1998, I was working at a Central Office Switch manufacturer, AG Communications, as a QA Hardware and Software Test contractor. During a department meeting, my supervisor told us that the FBI had waltzed in and demanded a back door into all of the new digital communication offerings from this day forward, AG complied. That same year SQL guru Clif High stated that the NSA had waltzed in and demanded a back door into all Microsoft OS’s from that day forward.
At that time, I sent email to all my family, friends and acquaintances, stating “Put nothing on a computer you do not want the world to see.” The handwriting was on the wall. Please note, this was during Clinton I, ~3 years before 911. The draconian measures of the Patriot Act were already under construction..
The biggest problem Crypto Currencies have is where they reside. Digital platforms have “zero” integrity. Note a few examples below.
- Catalog Advertises NSA Toolbox
De Spiegel | 2013 December 2013
NSA Back Doors… - The Ethics or Not of Massive Government Surveillance
Stanford | No Date
Encryption the Maginot Line of the 21st Century… - NSA Infiltrates Links to Yahoo, Google Data Centers Worldwide, Snowden Documents Say
Washington Post | 30 October 2013
Snowden Revelations.. - The Mother of them All Vault 7
Wiki Leaks | 17 March 2017
It Just Gets Worse..
These links are proof of the Encryption Maginot Line.
- Key Logger Varieties
Wiki | No Date Speicified
Note Hardware and Software Flavors Available.. - The Second OS Hiding on Every Mobile Phone
OS News | 13 Oct 2013
Stealth OS on Your Smart Device…
Please note, this one really gets my goat. Where it does not take a secondary stealth OS to set up a phone call, send a text or browse the web. What’s disturbing is, because you do not have root permissions and your Cellular company does, they can see everything on your phone. Therefore, zero privacy prevails..
First Installment Summation
I could go on for quite some time chronicling other digital back door stories I’ve found. But, by now I hope you’ve gotten the gist that no digital device has a reasonable expectation of privacy. It’s been that way for almost two decades and I can find no indication that major changes supporting a reasonable expectation of privacy are on the drawing board. But, know Crypto Currencies are the Tapeworm’s / PTB’s dream come true. Where control mechanisms will be able to selectively turn off and on users’ accounts / access via a computer algorithms based on your online behavior…
Next, Crypto Currency Theory vs. Practice…
Related Reading
Basil BIS and BitCoin