XKeyscore a 'God-terminal' into Internet
New information has revealed the extent to which the National Security Agency can spy on Internet users. The US agency has apparently developed software that allows detailed searches with just a few clicks of the mouse. ■ Another revelation by whistle-blower Edward Snowden has shaken the world: Spying software called XKeyscore, developed by the National Security Agency (NSA), can apparently surveil Internet users much more closely than expected. Whether tweets or Internet purchases, very little seems safe from the eyes of US security services. ■ Through a simple search interface, an NSA worker using XKeyscore can have access to the entire Internet, including private email, encrypted documents, social networks and - with special transcription software - even telephone conversations. Slides published by the British paper The Guardian show this far-reaching search as not being particularly complicated. Snowden provided slides apparently used to teach security service workers how to use the software. The slides show simple menus in which one can choose what or whom to surveil. XKeyscore users appear to have virtually the entire Internet within reach of a few clicks.