NSA's newest project - code name Stellar Wind

[Unarmed Gunman]

But “this is more than just a data center,” says one senior intelligence official who until recently was involved with the program. The mammoth Bluffdale center will have another important and far more secret role that until now has gone unrevealed. It is also critical, he says, for breaking codes. And code-breaking is crucial, because much of the data that the center will handle—financial information, stock transactions, business deals, foreign military and diplomatic secrets, legal documents, confidential personal communications—will be heavily encrypted. According to another top official also involved with the program, the NSA made an enormous breakthrough several years ago in its ability to cryptanalyze, or break, unfathomably complex encryption systems employed by not only governments around the world but also many average computer users in the US. The upshot, according to this official: “Everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.”

The NSA Is Building the Country's Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say) | Threat Level | Wired.com

 

[blank_czech]

Read about this a few days ago. Pretty crazy. Wonder how far ahead they actually are, or if they're just brute forcing everything. They already have those black boxes in more than a few cities in the US.

 

[Kstanki2]

If they crack PGP and similar forms of public encryption it will deal a significant blow to security, especially in the deeper parts of the internet- disheartening because it was one of our best tools to avoid personal messages being read by unwelcome eyes.

According to an official involved with the program: “Everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.”

However I highly doubt they can break a 256 bit encryption using a brute force method in any feasible way, a lot of this is muscle flexing to scare people away from using encryption in the name of privacy. That's a shame IMO, encryption has very legitimate uses and now the Gov't is very likely specifically targeting those who use it regularly with their online communication.

This is clearly a measure taken out of manic paranoia, which is something our 'elected officials' are inherently plagued with. Really does remind me of 1984, the party is very obviously completely insane and out of touch with reality, but will go to any length to convince you that you're the one who's insane, you are the unstable one that needs to be watched- not vice-versa (ever try using a recording device when the state is doing something naughty?).

 

[dreamache]

However I highly doubt they can break a 256 bit encryption using a brute force method in any feasible way