NSA has backdoor access to Internet companies databases

Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook and other large tech companies let the National Security Agency search through confidential customer data, according to the Washington Post.

A top-secret surveillance program gives the National Security Agency surreptitious access to customer information held by Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, Google, Facebook, and other Internet companies, according to a pair of new reports.

The program, code-named PRISM, reportedly allows NSA analysts to peruse exabytes of confidential user data held by Silicon Valley firms by typing in search terms. PRISM reports have been used in 1,477 items in President Obama’s daily briefing last year, according to an internal presentation to the NSA’s Signals Intelligence Directorate obtained by the Washington Post and the Guardian newspapers.

Want to read more?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57588143-38/nsa-has-backdoor-access-to-internet-companies-databases/

There is also a great article here, well worth a read:

PRISM, Snowden and Government Surveillance: 6 Things You Need To Know