Mass decoy messaging between news agencies and readers can help protect the identity of whistleblowers, according to Dr. Manny Ahmed, the founder of CoverDrop, a whistleblower protection tool, and OpenOrigins, a blockchain firm that provides data provenance for images and videos to ensure authenticity. Both tools work in symbiosis to ensure trusted communications.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Dr. Ahmed said that CoverDrop works by sending out large amounts of decoy encrypted messaging traffic between the readers of a news platform and the news platform itself.

This creates the illusion that every reader is a whistleblower, thus drowning out the identity of any true whistleblowers in a sea of digital noise. The executive outlined the problem whistleblowers currently face in the age of digital surveillance:

“Whistleblowers are in a tricky position because, by definition, they are part of a small set that has access to privileged information. So, even if they use end-to-end encryption, the fact that they have ever had communication with a journalist is enough to single them out.

It does not matter that they can’t see the contents of the message; just the one-on-one relationship is enough,” Dr. Ahmed continued.

The CoverDrop and OpenOrigins founder warned that advances in AI and data surveillance tools would only increase the threat to privacy and anonymity over time, creating a need for more robust defenses against the emerging panopticon of the security surveillance state.

Related: Vitalik introduces ‘pluralistic’ IDs to protect privacy in digital identity systems

The mass surveillance state supercharged: Agentic AI and the loss of anonymity in the crowd

Dr. Ahmed noted that mass data collection by governments and intelligence agencies has been ongoing for over a decade but largely ineffective because there was no efficient way to filter through the large quantities of data collected.

“They needed to hire thousands of analysts to sit down and actually target people; with AI you do not need to do that anymore,” the executive told Cointelegraph.

The rise of agentic AI allows intelligence agencies to assign an AI agent for each individual that would track all their data and provide a much more comprehensive profile of a person’s activity at a low computational cost, the executive warned.

“The threat has just escalated a lot. So, the defense has to escalate a lot as well,” Dr. Ahmed added.

Magazine: UK’s Orwellian AI murder prediction system, will AI take your job? AI Eye

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/how-mass-decoy-messaging-protects-whistleblowers-coverdrop-founder/feed/ 0 44834 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/428000-fine-for-cls-global-after-falling-for-fbis-crypto-decoy/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/428000-fine-for-cls-global-after-falling-for-fbis-crypto-decoy/#respond Thu, 03 Apr 2025 16:14:25 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/428000-fine-for-cls-global-after-falling-for-fbis-crypto-decoy/

CLS Global, a company that helps provide liquidity in crypto markets, has been fined over $428,000 after admitting to faking trades.

The firm agreed to give up cryptocurrency and pay financial penalties after pleading guilty in a Boston court. CLS Global will also be banned from operating in US crypto markets for the next three years.

Prosecutors say the case began with an undercover investigation designed to catch fake trading activity, known as wash trading.

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As part of the sting, federal agents created a made-up crypto project called NexFundAI. The project, along with its token, was listed on the decentralized exchange Uniswap
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CLS Global agreed to provide trading support for it, not knowing that it was part of a law enforcement operation.

An employee from the company later admitted in a video call that they used an automated tool to trade the token between wallets controlled by the firm. The employee also said, “I know that it’s wash trading and I know people might not be happy about it”.

The company pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to manipulate markets and commit wire fraud. A second charge of wire fraud was also accepted in court in January 2025. The US Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts confirmed the guilty plea and noted that another person tied to the case has not yet been found guilty.

Recently, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been accused of taking over $21 million in crypto during a probe into the defunct exchange Cryptoland. How did the case unfold? Read the full story.

Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.
With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.
Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.
Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.

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