NSA caught taping real-time communication on Google and Yahoo, according to a report
The NSA has been secretly taping real-communication occurring on the Yahoo and Google networks, according to a report published by The Washington Post.
According to hand-written documents and interviews that was used as sources, the newspaper published this information in an article, and which read, “The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, according to documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with knowledgeable officials.”
In response to this activity conducted with GCHQ, the British Intelligence Agency, spokespersons from Yahoo and Google expressed outrage and denied that they had given any kind of access of sensitive information to the government.
This project codenamed MUSCULAR captures entire data flows at undisclosed interception points in fiber optic cables that are used to transmit information to data centers.
This infiltration is quite remarkable since the NSA already has front-door access to both Yahoo and Google accounts, thanks to a court-sanctioned collection program titled PRISM.
While the agency is well-known for high-tech spying, this incident comes across as unique as it isn’t known to spy on American companies. However, one can easily understand the reason for this project since it collects data that it will use to match court-approved search terms.
Two engineers who were familiar with the technology used to offer Google’s service burst out in profanity while insisting that this discovery be published.
NSA, in response to this article, released a statement, which read, “NSA has multiple authorities that it uses to accomplish its mission, which is centered on defending the nation. The Washington Post’s assertion that we use Executive Order 12333 collection to get around the limitations imposed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and FAA 702 is not true. The assertion that we collect vast quantities of U.S. persons’ data from this type of collection is also not true.”