US spy program has financial, security impacts, says Snowden

The U.S. National Security Agency needs to consider the repercussions of its spying on electronic communications and data, especially how that impacts U.S. economic interests, former NSA analyst Edward Snowden said today.

“There’s a big question on if the potential intelligence we gain is worth the effort. They’re reducing the trust of the security in American products. This is critical in American industry. It has a real cost, not just moral but financially,” said Snowden, speaking Friday via video at a Harvard University conference on privacy in a networked society. He also said the NSA must understand that the methods it employs to secretly collect data can also be used against the U.S.

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