>You're telling me that, pre-snowden, you assumed that governments were inserting moles into open-standards processes and working to weaken ciphers ? Yes. The

>You're telling me that, pre-snowden, you assumed that governments were inserting moles into open-standards processes and working to weaken ciphers ? Yes. The first conversation I had about this was in the 90s >Or, pre-snowden, you assumed that they were intercepting cisco shipments to alter network gear ? Yes. I know the TSA goes through my luggage when I fly, why wouldn't the NSA go through my mail? Intercepting physical communications/packages has literally been going on for thousands of years. >Or, pre-snowden, you assumed that on-chip crypto functions from Intel and VIA were intentionally flawed ? Hadn't thought of that but it's really not a revelation. We do know that when companies are contacted by the NSA, they are barred from even acknowledging that they were contacted. Again, the first conversation I had about the NSA inserting back doors into consumer technology was in the 90s. This is a novel approach but the general modus operandi is expected. I think most people just don't appreciate what the NSA is. This is the organization that invented public key cryptography a decade before Ron Rivest and didn't publish the results. It wouldn't surprise me if they had made large advances in quantum cryptography that let them crack any cipher based on finite fields. I can imagine that all of this conventional spying is just a red herring to distract from much more insidious capabilities. I can imagine their capabilities extend beyond computer networks to the power grid... The point is that we funnel huge sums of money into an organization that hires the best and the brightest to spy on us. Why would you assume they aren't doing that well? But, at the end of the day, I just look at the Snowden "revelations" as another Bengahzi or Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The political opposition will use it as a tool to further their interests but no one really cares. No domestic representative is going to cut funding to the NSA and no foreign government is going to act any differently when it comes to their security. They will get on the news and make a lot of noise as they use this as political cover to advance whatever ax they have to grind. But, I can't imagine them actually caring that the NSA spies on US citizens.