While many upcoming technologies promise to grant privacy and keep sensitive information safe in a world that is becoming increasingly more connected, the National Security Agency (NSA) has ways of bypassing even the most protected systems in order to have constant access to the inner workings of countries, organizations and even peoples lives.

Dubbed Operation Auroragold, the NSA has developed methods of accessing phone records, emails and texts by hacking into cellphone networks the Intercept learned exclusively from whistleblower Edward Snowden. The operation may have been established as early as 2010, but there are no indications that it has slowed down. Documents provided by Snowden show that through Operation Auroragold the NSA intended to poke holes into cellular communication systems so they can be hacked at will to access information.

The organization has already spied on hundreds of companies and organizations around the world in order to learn about any security vulnerabilities within their communication systems that can be used to collect intelligence. The NSA has reportedly acquired correspondence from over 1,200 email accounts through Operation Auroragold, while countries targeted through the program include Libya and organizations include the GSM Association.

The NSA supposedly gained internal access to 4G data connections in 2010, years before the technology would become global standard of communication. The NSA has stated that it does not target ordinary people, but observers have said the program could create problems for everyday citizens. Channels opened by the NSA could be accessed by hackers.

If there are vulnerabilities on those systems known to the NSA that are not being patched on purpose, its quite likely they are being misused by completely other kinds of attackers, Mikko Hypponen, a security expert at Finland-based firm F-Secure told the Intercept. When they start to introduce new vulnerabilities, it affects everybody who uses that technology; it makes all of us less secure.

Many security bugs were discovered in 2014, including the Heartbleed security flaw, which was discovered in April, and affected a considerable amount of business and commercial accounts. The NSA may have known about Heartbleed for at least two years before it was discovered, Bloomberg has previously reported, and may have used the vulnerability to collect intelligence from 66 percent of websites globally.

Though the White House denied the NSAs involvement in Heartbleed, President Obama also announced in April that the agency would have to report to the government any security flaws that it discovers. In December 2013, an NSA review, which included the president, determined that the NSA didnt have the right to create vulnerabilities in commercial technologies for the purpose of collecting surveillance.

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Operation Auroragold: How The NSA Poked Holes In Cellular Networks To Spy On Countries, Organizations, People