The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has defended its foreign intelligence surveillance program after new reports claim the agency spied on European Union (EU) antitrust bosses, leaders of ally nations, charity organizations, and more.
The NSA is said to have collected data of millions of telephone calls in the U.S. to counter terrorism in the country. However, Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, leaked confidential documents highlighting the agency's secretive telephone record collection program.
The New York Times reports that the documents leaked by Edward Snowden also revealed that the NSA and its UK counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), monitored email traffic of Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak, two Israeli embassies and Joaquin Almunia, vice president of the European Commission and its chief antitrust official.
The NSA and GCHQ are also said to have spied on the heads of international aid organizations and foreign energy companies. However, an NSA spokeswoman has defended the agency' surveillance programs without commenting specifically on the report.
"We do not use our foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of -- or give intelligence we collect to -- U.S. companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line," said, Vanee Vines, an NSA spokeswoman. "The United States collects foreign intelligence just as many other governments do."
The NSA and GCHQ are also believed to have monitored the communications of senior European Union officials and African heads of state and sometimes even their family members. The agencies also targeted the United Nations and other relief programs.
The U.S. and the UK security agencies are reported to have collected data between 2008 to 2011 with their interest spanning to over 60 countries around the world.
"The intelligence community's efforts to understand economic systems and policies, and monitor anomalous economic activities, are critical to providing policy makers with the information they need to make informed decisions that are in the best interest of our national security," added Vines.
