6. Got Encryption?

Image Credit

A lot of online retailers and other companies doing business on the internet put a lot of effort into making sure we know that our data is “safe” or “secure” when we visit their websites. They often boast that their sites are “hacker proof” or “encrypted” when we feed our personal information into their systems. What they don’t tell us is exactly which hackers we are protected from and which ones we aren’t. That’s not the fault of the businesses themselves since they’ve very likely been duped right along with the rest of us. Unfortunately, a company by the name of RSA that made it a lot easier for the hackers at the NSA to scoop up and read a lot of data even if it was encrypted. RSA is a key player on the electronic security scene and are responsible for much of the software that’s used to secure computers and networks. Now even we have to admit that it would be hard to turn down a $10 million dollar offer like the one the NSA made to RSA for a secret “back door” into their encryption software. To an average Joe that’s a lot of money but when you consider that RSA is a subsidiary of data storage and security giant EMC, which reported revenue of $6.7 billion during just the last quarter of 2013, $10 million starts to look a lot more like a $10 bet on a dart board game at the local pub. “Follow the money” certainly applies in this case and thanks to RSA and EMC, the NSA can follow that $43.76 you just spent on your favorite online retailer’s website.