If you thought your search history, text messages or anything else on your devices was private, think again. Recent reports suggest the N.S.A. could know virtually everything about us — especially things that can be found out from our activity online and on our phones. This may not come as a surprise to some of us. With ramped up airport security and invasive T.S.A. screenings, it may feel as though the federal government has been watching our every move since 9/11. What’s shocking, though, is that the N.S.A. may be obtaining this information without the knowledge of data providers, such as Google and Yahoo. In light of this fact, there’s no telling how much the agency already knows about our lives, or how much more it will know in the future.
Obtaining the Data
As was recently revealed, the N.S.A. is capable of gathering data from the Internet and data giants without their consent or awareness. The agency obtained an extraordinary amount of information from Yahoo and Google while they were none the wiser. Some may wonder how the N.S.A. pulled off such a feat. After all, both companies are powerful tech giants.
However, when companies like Google decline to provide information voluntarily, the agency can potentially obtain it from a third-party data center, owned by companies like Verizon, Level 3 Communications or the Vodafone group. Phone and Internet service providers such as these may already be required to relinquish information to the federal government. To obtain the data, officials believe the N.S.A. essentially performed the Internet equivalent of a phone tap. It allegedly took the information from the fiber-optic cables connecting data centers, and many believe the N.S.A. may have tapped into the data via Level 3 Communications, as this Denver-based Internet service provider shares cables with both Google and Yahoo.
Hitting at a Weak Point
The N.S.A. has been trying to obtain more data from the Internet for some time. If you have your homepage set to Google, you’ve probably noticed the site has been asking users to sign a petition to help keep the Internet unregulated. The federal government wants to be able to oversee what happens on the Internet. They claim access to this information will help them identify terrorists before they strike. The N.S.A. says that in a post-911 world, no one can truly expect to live a private life.
However, most of us feel that giving the agency access to all information on the Internet would mean the government would have too much oversight. Some have compared the N.S.A. to Big Brother and believe that if the government oversaw the Internet, America would no longer be truly free. After all, if the N.S.A. was privy to all the information online, it would know everything from which motorcycle lawyers we use to where we go grocery shopping. Accordingly, data providers like Google have been less than willing to hand over information.
By obtaining information from the fiber-optic cables connecting the data centers, the N.S.A. hit a weak point in Google and Yahoo’s security — showing that these cables can be tapped by an outside source relatively easily. Data centers themselves are monitored 24/7 and are strongly encrypted. However, the cables connecting these centers to other centers are typically not encrypted. Some of these cables are housed in the storage facilities of third parties, such as Level 3, where the N.S.A. can access them relatively easily.
Looking Toward the Future
In light of recent events, data providers will likely ramp up their security. Microsoft has already encrypted the data on all fiber-optic cables that store its data. Google, Yahoo and other providers will likely do the same in the near future. However, to be safe, consumers should assume nothing they do online or on the computer is private. If the N.S.A. can obtain data from providers without them even knowing, there’s no telling what it already knows about us, or what it will find out in the future.