Washington - The U.S. National Security Agency is trying to
develop a computer that could ultimately break most encryption programs,
whether they are used to protect other nations’ spying programs or consumers’
bank accounts, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The report, which the newspaper said was based on documents
leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, comes amid continuing
controversy over the spy agency’s program to collect the phone records Internet
communications of private citizens.
In its report on Thursday, The Washington Post said that the
NSA is trying to develop a so-called “quantum computer” that could be used to
break encryption codes used to cloak sensitive information.
Such a computer, which would be able to perform several
calculations at once instead of in a single stream, could take years to
develop, the newspaper said. In addition to being able to break through the
cloaks meant to protect private data, such a computer would have implications
for such fields as medicine, the newspaper reported.
The research is part of a $79.7 million research program
called “Penetrating Hard Targets,” the newspaper said. Other, non-governmental
researchers are also trying to develop quantum computers, and it is not clear
whether the NSA program lags the private efforts or is ahead of them.
Snowden, living in Russia with temporary asylum, last year
leaked documents he collected while working for the NSA. The United States has
charged him with espionage, and more charges could follow.
His disclosures have sparked a debate over how much leeway
to give the U.S. government in gathering information to protect Americans from
terrorism, and have prompted numerous lawsuits.
Last week, a federal judge ruled that the NSA’s collection
of phone call records is lawful, while another judge earlier in December
questioned the program’s constitutionality. The issue is now more likely to
move before the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Thursday, the editorial board of the New York Times said
that the U.S. government should grant Snowden clemency or a plea bargain, given
the public value of revelations over the National Security Agency’s vast spying
programs.
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