How the NSA Is Hurting the Tech Sector

Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- So let’s see if we can find thethread that connects some recent news from the technology world.Microsoft Corp. has agreed to let users of its forthcoming XBoxOne game system disable the “always on” motion-sensing camerathat was previously described as a fully integrated componentthat couldn’t be turned off. Two companies that offer high-encryption e-mail services, Lavabit and Silent Circle, haveannounced they will cease providing it. Foreign firms interestedin cloud computing, widely viewed as tech’s next profit machine,are seriously considering Asian and European providers insteadof U.S. ones.

In each case, the decision was made after concerns wereraised about security. And the concerns in question were aboutthe security policies of the U.S. government.