The seal of the U.S. National Security Agency. The first use was in September 1966, replacing an older seal which was used briefly. For more information, see here and here. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Very soon, the National Security Agency (NSA) will have the ability to monitor every investment transaction in real time through new surveillance hub monitoring.
The NSA will be able to review private financial information on investors who are being targeted through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)'s recent database, which holds investors' data in one location. This ability may enable the NSA to make waves in the stock market.
The Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System (CARDS) seems to have been designed for this type of vulnerability.
Porter Stansberry, founder of Stansberry & Associates Investment Research Conference, shared on the Alex Jones Show that he could not envision another reason for such move. He added that it was not a simple task and that having this vast knowledge would be valuable to various entities.
The NSA is involved in financial espionage and this database enables corporate entities and high frequency traders to fix markets.
Because of the 1987 stock market crash, the Plunge Protection Team, also known as the Working Group on Financial Markets, has also been suspected of market manipulation. The government from time to time influences the markets by announcing and executing bond purchasing programs.
Further historic research shows that the NSA has displayed a willingness to keep an eye on and influence financial transactions.
Based on a White House report from last December, it was implied that NSA was accessing financial institutions and amending the funds in bank accounts. The report stated that no government should utilize its technological capabilities alter the funds in any financial institution or exercise excessive influencing on the financial system.
Past analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Trevor Timm questioned whether NSA was actually doing it.
Last September, Der Spiegel, the German news outlet, reported that NSA had also been tracking the movement of money globally.
NSA is able to gather credit card and other transactions through the "Follow the Money" program and into its databank "Tracfin", which holds some 200 million records.
The article further shared that 2010 NSA documents reflect that the entity has been monitoring credit card transactions from VISA and other companies. In addition, NSA analysts described how they were able to search through VISA's transaction network with the ability to tap in.
This new CARDS database has been described by a law professor as a temptation to influence the stock market.