This is indefensible in my opinion, and indicates systemic problems: In another case, from two years ago, which was only discovered during an investigation [of

This is indefensible in my opinion, and indicates systemic problems: In another case, from two years ago, which was only discovered during an investigation [of] another matter, a woman employee of the agency confessed that she had obtained information about the phone of "her foreign-national boyfriend and other foreign nationals". She later told investigators she often used the NSA's surveillance tools to investigate the phone numbers of people she met socially, to ensure they were "not shady characters". Some of the other examples are American employees tasking friends in the US, so it's clear that in spite of the NSA's mission there are absolutely no controls over what data is accessed or by whom after people have clearance, or even checks after the fact by supervisors. The scope for abuse here is really broad (financial espionage, blackmail, judicial sabotage) - it undermines most of the things we take from granted will be free from corruption.