US and UK intelligence have
reportedly cracked technology used to encrypt internet services such as online
banking, medical records and email.
Disclosures by leaker Edward Snowden
say the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK's GCHQ are hacking key
online security protocols.
The encryption techniques targeted
are used by popular internet services such as Google, Facebook and Yahoo.
The NSA is said to spend $250
million (£160 million) a year on the top secret program.
It is codenamed Bullrun, an American
civil war battle, according to the documents published by the Guardian in
conjunction with the New York Times and ProPublica.
The British counterpart program is
called Edgehill, after the first major engagement of the English civil war, say
the documents.
'Behind-the-scenes persuasion'
The reports say the UK and US
intelligence agencies are focusing on the encryption used in 4G smartphones,
email, online shopping and remote business communication networks.
Under Bullrun, it is said that the
NSA has built powerful supercomputers to try to crack the technology that
scrambles and encrypts personal information when internet users log on to
access various services.
The NSA also collaborated with
unnamed technology companies to build so-called back doors into their software
- something that would give the government access to information before it is
encrypted and sent over the internet, it is reported.
As well as supercomputers, methods
used include "technical trickery, court orders and behind-the-scenes
persuasion to undermine the major tools protecting the privacy of everyday
communications", the New York Times reports.
The US reportedly began investing
billions of dollars in the program in 2000 after its initial efforts to install
a "back door" in all encryption systems were thwarted.
'Gobsmacked'
During the next decade, it is said
the NSA employed code-breaking computers and began collaborating with
technology companies at home and abroad to build entry points into their
products.
The documents provided to the
Guardian by Snowden do not specify which companies participated.
The NSA also hacked into computers
to capture messages prior to encryption, and used broad influence to introduce
weaknesses into encryption standards followed by software developers the world
over, the New York Times reports.
When British analysts were first
told of the extent of the program they were "gobsmacked", according
to one memo among more than 50,000 documents shared by the Guardian.
NSA officials continue to defend the
agency's actions, claiming it will put the US at considerable risk if messages
from terrorists and spies cannot be deciphered.
But some experts argue that such
efforts could actually undermine national security, noting that any back doors
inserted into encryption programs can be exploited by those outside the
government.
It is the latest in a series of
intelligence leaks by Snowden, a former NSA contractor, who began providing
caches of sensitive government documents to media outlets in June.
Snowden, whom the US wants to
extradite, has been granted temporary asylum in Russia.
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