A new National Security Agency (NSA) data gathering facility is seen under construction in Bluffdale, about 25 miles (40 kms) south of Salt Lake City, Utah June 11, 2013. REUTERS/Jimmy Urquhart
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency has secretly developed the ability to crack or circumvent commonplace Internet encryption used to protect everything from email to financial transactions, according to media reports citing documents obtained by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The Guardian, The New York Times and journalistic nonprofit ProPublica reported on Thursday that the U.S. intelligence agency used a variety of means, ranging from the insertion of "back doors" in popular tech products and services, to supercomputers, secret court orders and the manipulation of international processes for setting encryption standards.
