Even though the New York Times revealed last year that the NSA had a plan to map the Internet, under the code name "Treasure Map," new reports now show the project will be used for cyber warfare.
The report providing information on the plans was published by Germany's Der Spiegel.
The report states:
"It aims to map the Internet, and not just the large traffic channels, such as telecommunications cables. It also seeks to identify the devices across which our data flows, so-called routers. Furthermore, every single end device that is connected to the Internet somewhere in the world -- every smartphone, tablet and computer -- is to be made visible. Such a map doesn't just reveal one treasure. There are millions of them."
Der Spiegel claims to have received its information from Snowden documents its viewed. The map is allegedly close to real-time in the information it shows, and it has been compared to a "battlefield map" for the NSA and the British GCHQ agency. Deutsche Telekom's IT Security Chief Thomas Tschersich is looking into possible security breaches and has stated that his company has contacted the authorities about the matter.