> That's ~50 attacks short of the total, not counting ones they can't disclose due to classification rules.
Not according to NSA deputy director John C Inglis:
"The NSA has previously claimed that 54 terrorist plots had been disrupted "over the lifetime" of the bulk phone records collection and the separate program collecting the internet habits and communications of people believed to be non-Americans. On Wednesday, Inglis said that at most one plot might have been disrupted by the bulk phone records collection alone. "There is an example that comes close to a 'but for' example," Inglis said."
http://www.theguardian.com/wor...
And, there are no secret undisclosed successes - they never disclosed the details of the "54" attacks either, just the totals, keeping the details classified.