Internet giants voice concern over NSA, GCHQ circumvention of encryption

(RT) Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google expressed unease Friday about the National Security Agency’s ability to bypass online security systems that protect the privacy of internet users. Yahoo said in a statement that if such an effort by the NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ to compromise encryption privacy protections used online exists, “it offers substantial potential for abuse.” Microsoft and Google also both signaled concern and an unawareness of the intelligence agencies’ encryption-thwarting methods.

The New York Times, the Guardian, and ProPublica published Thursday information obtained from Edward Snowden outlining how the agencies have circumvented the encryption methods used to secure emails, chats, and essentially most internet traffic that was previously thought to be protected. In addition, a GCHQ team has worked to infiltrate encrypted traffic on the “big four” service providers: Google, Yahoo, Microsoft’s Hotmail (now known as Outlook), and Facebook.

"We are unaware of and do not participate in such an effort,” a Yahoo spokesman said Friday. “Yahoo zealously defends our users' privacy and responds to government requests for data only after considering every applicable objection and in accordance with the law.”

A Microsoft spokesperson said, "We have significant concerns about the allegations of government activity reported yesterday and will be pressing the government for an explanation."

Microsoft and Google are currently teaming up on a lawsuit against the US government for the right to reveal more information about official requests for customer data by American intelligence. The companies are set to file legal briefs in the case on Monday.

As for the encryption revelations, a spokesman for Google said, "The security of our users' data is a top priority. We do not provide any government, including the US government, with access to our systems. As for recent reports that the US government has found ways to circumvent our security systems, we have no evidence of any such thing ever occurring. We provide user data to governments only in accordance with the law."

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