An NSA tool is able to track e-mail and online chats, according to the Guardian, which, once again, recently exposed the agency’s surveillance practices via Edward Snowden. This is the latest in a series of leaks from the former NSA employee responsible for releasing information on top secret U.S. and British surveillance programs to the press.

“The purpose of XKeyscore is to allow analysts to search the metadata as well as the content of e-mails and other Internet activity, such as browser history, even when there is no known e-mail account (a ‘selector’ in NSA parlance) associated with the individual being targeted,” the Guardian says. “Analysts can also search by name, telephone number, IP address, keywords, the language in which the Internet activity was conducted or the type of browser used.”

The program works simply by an analyst filling out an onscreen form. Once that is complete, they have access to browsing history, searches, the content of your e-mail, online chats and even metadata.


Image via Shutterstock

The NSA claims the program is only used to legally obtain information about foreign targets requested by leaders with the intent to protect the nation and its interests. The organization also said there are multiple technical, manual and supervisory checks and balances within the system to prevent deliberate misuse, which is contradictory to what Snowden has claimed.

The latest information suggests Snowden was right when he said, "I, sitting at my desk [could] wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal e-mail."

The NSA still needs a warrant to target communications between Americans, but they can tap into American communications with non-Americans without any warrant.

Snowden’s actions have been up for debate, with people on both sides arguing whether he was right to alert the public or wrong for putting programs and its people under the spotlight.

Snowden's leaks revealed that the U.S. has been spying on secrets, including eavesdropping on global e-mail traffic, for quite some time.

"I don't want to live in a society that does these sorts of things," Snowden said in June when he first went public. "I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under...I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."