The Pentagon’s mysterious move to start using inactive internet space could help it see into the networks of big companies

More than 175 million previously dormant web addresses owned by the US Department of Defense were activated in January, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

The announcement of the newly-active IP addresses came from a mysterious company with almost no paper trail, stoking intrigue over the announcement — but the Defense Department ultimately clarified that the company is a contractor and that the Pentagon still owns the IP addresses. 

It remains unclear why the Pentagon contracted with a private company to make the announcement (a Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment). Though the agency told The Washington Post that the change is meant to “assess, evaluate and prevent unauthorized use of DoD IP address space,” the exact purpose and scope of the maneuver remains a mystery.

But the newly active IP addresses — which account for roughly 6% of all internet addresses of their kind — could enable the Defense Department to start collecting a geyser of information from companies across the globe, according to one expert. 

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