The NSA has hacked your phone: What you need to know, and how to protect yourself

Each passing leak from former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden seems to paint a darker picture of the state of privacy and data security in the United States, and the world at large. At this point weve heard about mass surveillance of nude Webcam chats, the NSA tapping international leaders phones, mass metadata collection, spies pretending to be Facebookto infect computers, and countless other programs. Now, an even more frightening Snowden leak has appeared on the Intercept.

The NSA and GCHQ have had access to the vast majority of cell phone communications around the world since 2010.

In other words, the NSA and GCHQ have had access to the vast majority of cell phone communications (even encrypted communication) around the world since 2010. Theyve listened to your phone calls; theyve read your texts; and theyve almost certainly monitored the websites youve visited on your mobile devices.

To make matters worse, the same hacked company that makes SIM cards also makes the chips that are embedded into your next-generation credit cards and next-generation passports.

Heres everything you need to know about how these agencies pulled off this massive hack without anyone noticing, who they targeted, and how to protect yourself from surveillance.

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The NSA has hacked your phone: What you need to know, and how to protect yourself