Comment Re:The truth gets out... (Score 3, Insightful) 81
This isn't the only way or even the main way that the NSA exploits systems.
Things we know:
1) The NSA collects SSL keys.
2) The NSA can generate fake SSL keys.
3) The NSA has performed MiTM attacks against Google and Microsoft.
4) We know where many of the places are that the splice into the undersea cables.
5) US embassies often have Echelon hardware for tracking satellite communication.
6) The GCHQ stores three days of internet traffic (not metadata but everything).
7) The NSA collects metadata from everything. Email. Phone. Letters. Facebook.
8) The NSA planted spies in large corporations.
9) The NSA have influenced/degraded encryption standards.
10) The US government and Israel created stuxnet.
11) The NSA monitors all credit card transactions outside of the US.
We don't know the specifics though. We don't know:
1) If there is a backdoor in Windows or Linux or libssl.
2) If hardware random number generators have been backdoored.
3) If there are backdoors on the motherboard or in the ethernet firmware.
4) How they are tracking in other ways, via license plate readers or sensing your various personal radio devices.
5) How are spy satellites used for domestic surveillance?
6) Just how much information is shared between the agencies to avoid fourth amendment rules. We know that the NSA and the GCHQ share an office. We know that the NSA gave unfiltered data on non-criminals to Israel.