Exclusive: Yahoo secretly scanned customer emails for US intelligence - sources

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc last year secretly built a custom software program to search all of its customers' incoming emails for specific information provided by U.S. intelligence officials, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company complied with a classified U.S. government directive, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency or FBI, said two former employees and a third person apprised of the events.

Exclusive: Yahoo secretly scanned customer emails for US intelligence - sources

I guess Yahoo! was willing to do anything for cash. They've been struggling to stay afloat for years now.

So in addition to the massive Yahoo! hack that happened a few years ago (and was just recently disclosed), we've had the NSA dredging through all of Yahoo!'s stuff.

Apparently, Yahoo! is not where you want your info to live. I wonder if Verizon still wants to buy them now...

a reply to: SoulOfCeres

I wonder if Verizon still wants to buy them now...

At least if they do, Verizon has more bargaining chips


I'd be surprised if any widely-used free email services weren't allowing intelligence agencies to scan through their archives. It's the way of the world, in the information age today.

Hell, I think they hacked my homing pigeon.

a reply to: SoulOfCeres

Judging on the standard and low intellectual level of Yahoo news stories, I would say this makes perfect sense.

a reply to: SoulOfCeres

I guess Yahoo! was willing to do anything for cash. They've been struggling to stay afloat for years now.

So in addition to the massive Yahoo! hack that happened a few years ago (and was just recently disclosed), we've had the NSA dredging through all of Yahoo!'s stuff.

That is an incorrect assumption.

Yahoo! has no choice in the matter.

When the government comes knocking on your door with a secret court order. You have no choice but to comply.

originally posted by: FamCore
I'd be surprised if any widely-used free email services weren't allowing intelligence agencies to scan through their archives. It's the way of the world, in the information age today.

If only Microsoft would make Exchange licenses cheaper, we could all run our own secure basement servers like Hillary.

a reply to: grey580

Fair enough. That's probably true. Regardless, this just further highlights the completely insecure and non-private nature of the internet. Snowden was right about that.

I'd be surprised if any widely-used free email services weren't allowing intelligence agencies to scan through their archives. It's the way of the world, in the information age today.

I don't know where you guys have been,
but the first time I heard about it was back in 91.
Yahoo was the one of the first to become compliant.

Buck

originally posted by: SoulOfCeres
a reply to: grey580

Fair enough. That's probably true. Regardless, this just further highlights the completely insecure and non-private nature of the internet. Snowden was right about that.

There is no such thing as perfect security. You can only put so many roadblocks in an attackers way to deter him. But if an attacker has enough time and money they can get whatever they want.

Email itself is plain text going across the wire. Unless the server supports encryption and is setup specifically between email servers.

So email is insecure by default.

People are working on making things more secure. But they aren't always perfect. And when quantum computers are available to governments. Security will be a joke.

a reply to: grey580

Exchange uses TLS by default these days. No idea what the free/hosted platforms are using.

But yes, the basic SMTP protocol is clear-text. You have to use SSL/TLS along with it to make host-to-host transfers secure... and if the mail server you are sending an email to isn't encrypted, AND your server is configured to allow for non-secure SMTP if the remote host doesn't support SSL/TLS, then your email might be readable on the wire.

Basic SMTP was also written in 1982.

They updated it a bit in 2008, but honestly it's still a pretty terrible protocol, which was never intended to be used as it is today.

a reply to: SoulOfCeres

People still use Yahoo for email? What is this the early 00s?

In all seriousness, this does not shock me.

I think I am probably not alone when I just assume this all along. The only thing I am surprised about is that it is being reported as some kind of big deal.

The worst part is it doesn't even bother me. I have been beaten down so much that I am OK with them doing it because I know they are going to do it anyway regardless of what I want.

What makes you think they got paid?