Google working to use highly advanced data encryption to thwart NSA spying The effort began in earnest over one year ago, but has picked up steam in the wake of PRISM revelations Google will bolster the encryption of information flowing between data centers to create an 'end to end' solution The internet giant already encrypts Gmail and most searches Despite their best efforts, it would take no more than a few weeks to encrypt and Google's efforts to make it harder for governments to spy on ordinary citizens may be in vain. By using encryption, Google believes it can limit the amount of spying done by governments on innocent people and force agencies to narrow their efforts to criminals, terrorists and suspected offenders, internet security experts told the Washington Post. Despite this push for added security, an expert who spoke to MailOnline believes it will do no more than delay spying efforts at best. Google's encryption efforts were initially approved last June, but recent reports detailing the previously PRISM program have caused it to prioritize the project, according to the Post. Spy headquarters: The NSA has been spying on ordinary Americans for years, according to recent disclosures By encrypting information, firms are usually able to make it unintelligible to most anyone who comes across it - unless the encryption is broken. Depending on the level of encryption, it forces more of an effort to crack open the data, but with ProPublica reporting this week that the US and UK governments have been working to crack most forms of internet encryption since at least 2000, it would appear they have the upper hand. That disclosure, along with Edward Snowden leak reports from the Guardian and the Washington Post suggesting companies are basically turning on spigots that allow information to flow to the government nearly freely, has firms like Google scrambling to protect client privacy. The reasoning behind bolstering encryption schemes is that governments and others who want to pry open the data of ordinary citizens will be forced to limit the scope of their hacking, technology firms argue. Feverishly working: Google has ramped up efforts to encrypt data after recent disclosures of the NSA PRISM spying program "It's an arms race," Eric Grosse, vice president for security engineering at Google, told the Post. We see these government agencies as among the most skilled players in this game. The US and Britain aren't alone in their employment of cyber armies. Reports have shown that China, Iran, Israel, Russia and even Syria have legions of hackers awaiting their next marching orders. The National Security Agency (NSA) has spent the last decade-plus using super computers to break codes, obtaining encryption keys and even influencing encryption standards "to make them more vulnerable to outside attack," according to ProPublica, making them nearly useless in the process. Despite Google using some of the brightest minds in the world to encrypt the data coursing through its networks and servers, that still can't completely stop spooks from kicking down the door. "If the NSA wants to get into your system, they are going to get in," a computer security expert told the Post, adding that "this is all about making dragnet surveillance impossible." Almost finished: The new encryption project is expected to be finished soon, months ahead of schedule The agency declined to comment to the Post and was not immediately able to be reached by MailOnline for comment. For a company the size of Google, cost limits its ability to use a level of encryption that would cause anything more than a hiccup for government spies, according to Michael Hawkins, an IT specialist with a background in information security who spoke to MailOnline. Explaining that Google is likely working to encrypt data 'at rest' in servers, which makes it harder to crack, the Mountain View, CA-based search giant is also increasing the amount of resources it needs to do the encryption and decryption, Hawkins said. Google already encrypts Gmail and its bread and butter search for most users, but the data flowing between data centers is what is most vulnerable, according to the Post. PRISM: NSA's spying program, dubbed PRISM, has been the subject of several recent media reports detailing the scope of US government spying Copies of emails, search histories and even browsing histories for users race between data centers through much-less secure connections than the ones Google has between it and users, the Post said, basically providing what amounts to a back door for hackers. The firm's engineers are plowing forward to not only close that back door, but also fence it in. By encrypting each server and the information blasting through the fiber-optic lines between them using "very strong" technology, experts told the Post, Google will have "end to end" protection. The project should be finished months ahead of schedule, according to the Post. But if encryption is cracked for one user, hackers can use that exploit to root around the data of many users, Hawkins said, unless Google tied individual encryption keys to user passwords. This would make them much harder to crack, but still not impossible, he added. Resistance is futile: No matter how hard Google's engineers work to outfox the government, the NSA will ultimately crack whatever encryption it sets its sights on No matter which route Google is going, the NSA will eventually crack it, Hawkins argues. Google was not immediately available for comment. 'All the NSA has to do to break even the toughest encryption is train a few thousand supercomputers - which you can rent by the hour on it and it would take a few days to a few weeks... it's expensive, but it would eventually get through,' said Hawkins. 'For every security mechanism put in place, there will eventually be technology to defeat it and, with the near limitless resources of the 'black' agencies of the US government, it is comparatively easy for them to do it,' Hawkins furthered. The level of encryption needed to be used by Google, 2048 bit, is prohibitively expensive at the scale Google would need, according to Hawkins, who suggested that Google is perhaps scrambling to look less evil in the wake of the fallout from the Snowden disclosures. 'They can probably delay the NSA for a while, but I'm of the viewpoint that the NSA will just work harder to crack it,' Hawkins said, adding that 'Google is probably using it more for marketing than actual security.'