The United States' National Security Agency intelligence-gathering operation is capable of accessing user data from smart phones from all leading manufacturers. The magazine cites internal documents from the NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ in which the agencies describe setting up dedicated teams to crack protective measures on iPhones, BlackBerry and Android devices. The documents state that it is possible for the NSA to tap most sensitive data held on these smart phones, including contact lists, SMS traffic, notes and location information about where a user has been. Der Spiegel says the documents don't indicate that the NSA is conducting mass surveillance of phone users but rather that these techniques are used to eavesdrop on specific individuals. In the internal documents, experts boast about successful access to iPhone data in instances where the NSA is able to infiltrate the computer a person uses to sync their iPhone. In response to questions from SPIEGEL, BlackBerry officials stated, "It is not for us to comment on media reports regarding alleged government surveillance of telecommunications traffic."
– More shocking NSA news that shouldn't be shocking to any resident of planet Earth: It turns out that the whiz kids over at the National Security Agency have the capability to access a broad range of data on most smartphones out there, including iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices. This according to "top secret NSA documents" cited in an exclusive report in der Spiegel, which the AP notes is co-bylined by Laura Poitras. Yes, the NSA can access data that includes your contact lists, SMS messages, notes, and GPS information; the agency has also reportedly set up teams to deal with the specifics of different operating systems. The documents don't appear to indicate mass spying, but rather targeted individuals. This is particularly bad news for BlackBerry, notes Gizmodo, which has long touted its email as ultra-secure. The NSA documents do note that it was temporarily unable to hack BlackBerries, but that a change in RIM's data compression in March 2010 restored access. The response of the NSA team dedicated to BlackBerry: "Champagne!" RIM is refusing comment, other than to deny it had installed a "'back door' pipeline to our platform." Spiegel's full report is due out tomorrow. Meanwhile, iPhone users shouldn't be too smug: The report says the NSA had access to at least 38 iPhone features.