After PRISM, tech companies gear up for a long fight with the NSA

In Wired, Steven Levy takes an inside look at the fallout recent NSA revelations have caused within the tech community, hardening internal security and driving home a sobering thought: for Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, the biggest adversary is now the NSA. As Google’s head of security, Eric Grosse, tells Levy: “At first we were in an arms race with sophisticated criminals. Then we found ourselves in an arms race with certain nation-state actors [with a reputation for cyberattacks]. And now we’re in an arms race with the best nation-state actors.” At the same time, Levy finds the NSA largely unrepentant, insisting on the necessity of the program for national security. “Gmail is the most popular terrorist mail service in the world,” one official tells Wired. “Second place is Yahoo. It’s not because Google and Yahoo are evil, it’s because they offer a great service.”