The
NSA is reportedly not the only government agency asking tech companies for help in cracking technology to access user data. Sources say the
FBI has a history of requesting digital backdoors, which are generally understood as a hidden vulnerability in a program that would, in theory, let the agency peek into suspects' computers and communications.
In 2005, when
Microsoft was about to launch
BitLocker, its Windows software to encrypt and lock hard drives, the company approached the NSA, its British counterpart the
GCHQ and the FBI, among other government and law-enforcement agencies. Microsoft's goal was twofold: get feedback from the agencies, and sell BitLocker to them.
