US laws dictates that the NSA is required to obtain an individualized Fisa warrant only if the target of their surveillance is a ‘US person’, however XKeyScore offers the technological capabilities (legal authority is blurry) for an analyst to perform any kind of digital surveillance on any user, US citizen or otherwise. Wouldn’t you know it, however, most recently training files for a secret software called XKeyScore have been leaked which show and demonstrate that any analyst has access to a user’s internet history (e-mails, phone number, browsing, chats, just about anything) WITHOUT the need for a warrant. On another note, Snowden – a whistle-blower and hero by one side, and a dangerous traitor from another – is currently residing in Moscow, Russia, after fleeing the US via Hong Kong. This statement made a lot of people at Washington unhappy, and unsurprising Snowden’s claim was quickly refuted by officials. “I, sitting at my desk,” said Snowden, could “wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email”.

Xkeyscore search tool