Griffin Johnston, 4th period, NSA's Access to More Data in Smart Phones and the Internet

In an article on Fox News entitled “NSA can access more smart phone data, report says” the Associated Press reports on the NSA’s recent development concerning their gain of information on particular individuals from the data on their smart phones (i.e. iPhones, Blackberries, and Androids). Previously impassable barriers to the data on smart phones such as blackberries have prevented the NSA from accessing user’s information. The NSA is now able to break through these encryptions and access “contacts, call lists, SMS traffic, notes, and location information” of, in the words of the article, “potential threats such as terrorists.”

            In another article on FoxNews.com the Associated Press reports on the NSA’s ability to crack encrypted codes protecting private information on the Internet. It also mentioned NSA’s collaboration with certain software companies to install “back doors” in the companies’ software.

            This raises the debate around the where the line is between the government’s search for threats to our country’s safety, and the government’s unnecessary inhibition on American people’s privacy. This argument stems from the Patriot Act, passed after September 11, 2001 by the George W. Bush Administration, which granted security agencies more powers to locate terrorist activity. The act also expanded the powers of Security Agencies to gain personal information on individuals to see if they have any affiliation with terrorist groups. For example, the TSA and CAPPS II (Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System) had ready a program that would take a passenger’s information (date-of-birth, phone number, etc.) and put it through a database to see if the passenger had any relations with terrorist organizations or excessive criminal records. However this potential program was put down after protests from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Others believe that the powers have been taken advantage of to gain information on citizens for political purposes.

            It is sometimes necessary to trust that the government has righteous intentions. In the case of the NSA's ability to break encrypted codes on the Internet and Smart Phones to gain individual's information, these righteous intentions are to, in the words of the Preamble, “provide for the common defense.” However, it is also vital that we debate about whether or not the government has honorable motives becuase it results in their actions being more closely watched. By their activity being examined more carefully, they are forced to make decisions for the betterment of the people rather than for the betterment of themselves.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/06/nsa-can-reportedly-break-into-most-encrypted-internet-communications/

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/08/nsa-can-access-most-smartphone-data-report-says/?test=latestnews