Reports say NSA cracked encryption
Leaks by former security contractor Edward Snowden show the National
Security Agency has cracked into Internet communications previously
believed to be protected by the use of encryption.
The New York Times, Pro Publica and The Guardian,
working in partnership on the story, reported that documents obtained
from Snowden show that the NSA and Britain’s Government Communications
Headquarters (GCHQ) successfully broke through encryption barriers in
2010.
“Vast amounts of encrypted Internet data which have up till now been
discarded are now exploitable,” the reports said, citing one of the GCHQ
documents.
The documents reportedly show that the NSA’s anti-encryption methods
are closely guarded, and analysts are told, “Do not ask about or
speculate on sources or methods,” The Guardian reported.
The leaked documents also reveal that — aside from using
supercomputers and court orders — the NSA would spend as much as $250
million per year to “covertly influence” tech companies to create
loopholes in their products so the U.S. agency can easily access user
information.
The latest revelations follow months of ongoing leaks from Snowden,
who is now in Russia on a temporary asylum visa, exposing the NSA’s
efforts to collect data on civilians in the U.S. and abroad by tapping
phone calls and Internet activity.
The NSA, for its part, told in an emailed statement that
“it should hardly be surprising that our intelligence agencies seek ways
to counteract our adversaries’ use of encryption. Throughout history,
nations have used encryption to protect their secrets, and today
terrorists, cybercriminals, human traffickers and others also use code
to hide their activities. Our intelligence community would not be doing
its job if we did not try to counter that.”
The agency said that its deciphering of encrypted communications “is
not a secret, and is not news,” and that “anything that yesterday’s
disclosures add to the ongoing public debate is outweighed by the road
map they give to our adversaries about the specific techniques we are
using to try to intercept their communications in our attempts to keep
America and our allies safe.”
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