A federal counterintelligence agency tracking hackers has bought data harvested from the backbone of the internet by a private company because it was easier and took less time than getting similar data from the NSA, according to internal U.S. government documents. According to the documents, going through an agency like the NSA could take “days,” whereas a private contractor could provide the same data instantly.
The news is yet another example of a government agency turning to the private sector for novel datasets that the public is likely unaware are being collected and then sold.