How the NSA Undermined One of Obama’s Top Priorities

Bolstering the nation’s defenses against hackers has been one of the Obama Administration’s top goals.

Officials have warned for years that a sophisticated cyberattack could cripple critical infrastructure or allow thieves to make off with the financial information of millions of Americans.

President Barack Obama pushed Congress to enact cybersecurity legislation, and when it didn’t, he issued his own executive order in 2013. But critics argue that the National Security Agency has actually undermined cybersecurity and made the United States more vulnerable to hackers.

At its core, the problem is the NSA’s dual mission. On one hand, the agency is tasked with securing US networks and information. On the other hand, the agency must gather intelligence on foreign threats to national security.

Collecting intelligence often means hacking encrypted communications. So in many ways, strong Internet security actually makes the NSA’s job harder. “This is an administration that is a vigorous defender of surveillance,” said Christopher Soghoian, the head technologist for the American Civil Liberties Union. “Surveillance at the scale they want requires insecurity.”