spying

Last week the Guardian and New York Times ran stories claiming that NSA and its UK counterpart GCHQ have developed or employed means to crack the security being used to protect the privacy of personal data, online transactions, e-mails and other internet communications. According to the reports, the intelligence agencies have, among other things, collaborated with technology companies and ISPs to insert secret vulnerabilities – known as backdoors or trapdoors – into commercial encryption software, computer chips, and devices, covertly influenced their product designs, and introduced weaknesses into security standards.…