Reports: The NSA has supercomputers that can read your encrypted messages

In the weeks following the revelation that the National Security Agency has been tapping major U.S. internet companies to spy on unsuspecting users, encryption networks like Tor saw enormous spikes in popularity. But as it turns out, our best efforts to keep our information private may be for naught — at least according to a sprawling new joint report from the Guardian, the New York Times, and ProPublica.

Documents leaked by Edward Snowden indicate that the NSA has been using "supercomputers, technical trickery, court orders, and behind-the-scenes persuasion to undermine the major tools" designed to protect the privacy of internet users both abroad and domestically.

In order to do so, the agency reportedly deployed "custom-built, superfast computers to break codes, and began collaborating with technology companies in the United States and abroad to build entry points into their products." Here's the most disturbing bit, however (emphasis added):

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It wasn't until 2010, however, when "vast amounts" of data obtained through the program, dubbed Bullrun, were considered to be exploitable. The Guardian reports that the NSA spends about $250 million a year on the program, which includes a British GCHQ team charged with finding open seams in the "big four" service providers: Hotmail, Google, Yahoo, and Facebook.

So. It appears that the NSA's unchecked spying efforts, which span at least three different administrations, are not only able to easily circumvent existing encryption standards, but actually helped create the armor chinks that make our best secret-keeping technologies imperfect. Thanks, NSA.