Meant to help secure network, data could be used to attack foreign governments



From ArsTechnica:

The National Security Agency (NSA) has used sensitive data on network threats and other classified information as a carrot to gain unprecedented access to information from thousands of companies in technology, telecommunications, financial, and manufacturing companies, according to a report by Michael Riley of Bloomberg. And that data includes information on “zero-day” security threats from Microsoft and other software companies, according to anonymous sources familiar with the data-swapping program.

The NSA isn’t alone in the business of swapping secrets with the corporate world. The FBI, CIA, and Department of Defense (DOD) also have programs enabling them to exchange sensitive government information with corporate “partners” in exchange for access to things like information on cyberattacks, traffic patterns, and other information that relate to network security.

  NSA gets early access to zero-day data from Microsoft, others