NSA infiltrated Google, Yahoo data centers to collect user information: reports

Fresh exposes have been made that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) secretly broke into the data centers of major U.S. Internet service providers Google and Yahoo to collect personal information, including e-mail messages. An Italian media outlet argued that the NSA went as far as to wiretap telephone conversations by Catholic cardinals gathered at a conclave to elect a new pope.

Suspicions have also been raised that some 90 U.S. corporations helped U.S. spy agencies including the NSA with espionage.

Citing documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the Washington Post reported Wednesday that the NSA "has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world," collecting "at will" large amounts of information from user accounts.

According to the American daily, the NSA collected "millions of records every day" in January alone from data centers of Google Cloud and Yahoo through a project named "MUSCULAR." It is estimated that the U.S. spy agency secretly collected more than 180 million records, including e-mail information, the paper reported.

The NSA can obtain online communications records from Internet companies by legally compelling U.S. Internet companies to hand them over through a court-approved process. As going through such a legal process take a long time, the spy agency chose to infiltrate the companies` data centers, the daily reported.

The Internet companies denounced the NSA`s unauthorized access, saying that they had never allowed the agency access to their data centers. In an interview with Bloomberg, NSA Director Keith Alexander denied the report, claiming that although his agency collects terrorism-related information, it has no authority to go into U.S. companies` servers to get information.

Italian news weekly Panorama reported in its Wednesday edition that the NSA eavesdropped on cardinals before the conclave in March to elect a new pope. Vanee Vines, a spokesperson for the NSA, denied that the agency wiretapped the Vatican.

German weekly Spiegel claimed that at least 90 U.S. companies helped the NSA and other U.S. spy agencies analyze and categorize wiretapped communications records and that 30 major companies carried out espionage activities for the NSA, the CIA and U.S. military intelligence agencies.

The report came amid a German delegation`s visit to Washington to discuss ways to ease bilateral tensions caused by the NSA`s alleged wiretapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Merkel shouldn’t be surprised that her phone calls were monitored," said Mike McConnell, vice chairman of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp., a consulting firm for the NSA, and former director of National Intelligence at Bloomberg Government’s cybersecurity conference in Washington. "The No. 1 target on the globe is the president of the United States by everyone," he said. "All nation-states do this."

He said the U.S. is losing in a cyberwar now, adding it will "take a cyber-Pearl Harbor" before the U.S. takes the steps necessary to protect critical computer systems.

Dogged by a malfunctioning website for his medical reform and fresh exposes about the NSA wiretapping, U.S. President Barack Obama saw his approval rating plummeting to an all-time low.

According to a survey result announced Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, the job approval rate for Obama stood at 42 percent, down by 5 percentage points to hit the lowest level since he took office. By comparison, 51 percent disapprove of his job in office, also his all-time high.