Forget about today. How many Google SREs are NSA assets today?
It's not about why you collect the data. It's that a massive database of such information exists. The intent in mind when building a system has no jurisdiction over the potential uses later.
If the NSA wants the data and it's inside of a US-jurisdiction entity, they will get it. Period. Maybe they NSL some people with legitimate access and make sure they know they go to federal if they let their boss find out. Maybe they recruit some SREs. Maybe they blackmail the night watchman in the building that holds the equipment that has the dark fiber L2 encryption keys so that they can get the inter-datacenter link monitoring going again.
It doesn't matter what people intended when they built it. The fact is that it exists and the men with guns and a money printing press want it. Game over.
Do you mean assets, or employees? There is a difference... normally the word "asset" is used to refer to people who are recruited and run for human intelligence purposes ("spies"), e.g. using payouts or blackmail - for example, there is no health insurance which comes with being a CIA "asset," while a CIA employee even under non-official cover does have benefits.
It's not about why you collect the data. It's that a massive database of such information exists. The intent in mind when building a system has no jurisdiction over the potential uses later.
If the NSA wants the data and it's inside of a US-jurisdiction entity, they will get it. Period. Maybe they NSL some people with legitimate access and make sure they know they go to federal if they let their boss find out. Maybe they recruit some SREs. Maybe they blackmail the night watchman in the building that holds the equipment that has the dark fiber L2 encryption keys so that they can get the inter-datacenter link monitoring going again.
It doesn't matter what people intended when they built it. The fact is that it exists and the men with guns and a money printing press want it. Game over.