How to stop the NSA spying on your data
BIG BROTHER really is watching you. A series of revelations over the past week has revealed the extent of the US government's snooping. But there are ways that the average citizen can avoid the prying eyes of the state.
Last week, whistleblower Edward Snowden – a former contractor with the National Security Agency (NSA) – told UK newspaper The Guardian that the NSA not only has details of phone calls made by millions of Verizon customers, it also has some form of access to its citizens' internet activity as part of a programme named Prism.
The details of exactly how the NSA accesses personal data held by US internet companies are still unclear (see "Split the difference"). Access to Verizon's call metadata was obtained using a secret court order forcing the firm to hand over information including call duration, number and cellphone tower details.
