Spiegel reporters were able to take a look at “top secret NSA documents” that detail the NSA’s ability to gather information from most smartphones, including iPhones, Android and BlackBerry devices. The NSA reportedly has scripts for gathering off of computers that — in the case of iOS — the phone has synced with.
Spiegel keeps using the word “tap” but it’s unclear whether that means the NSA can actually access data remotely or it needs to have access to the physical access, which doesn’t sound as a complicated task (when you just have to deal with a passcode).
Perhaps more interesting is Spiegel’s claim that NSA was able to access the BlackBerry email system, which is both encrypted and secure on the company’s servers and on its phones. The Canadian company denied to the paper that it had created a back door to its servers for the NSA.
Apparently, the NSA first managed to “crack the BlackBerry code” in 2010 and the memo allegedly noted the success by stating “champagne!” However, Spiegel adds that tapping into smartphones was not “a mass phenomenon,” saying that it will provide more details in an article to be published tomorrow. We’ll see whether they reveal some other interesting tidbits on Monday…
[Via: TheVerge]