“There are certainly steps the US government has taken in the name of national security that some members of private industry haven’t agreed with… but I do think there are opportunities for the US government and private to coordinate and cooperate on these efforts to keep the country safe, but also protect our civil liberties,” Earnest said at a press briefing on Friday.
The US National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) spy agencies hacked into the network of the world's largest SIM card producer Gemalto, and stole encryption keys, the online publication The Intercept reported on Thursday.
After the breach, GCHQ, supported by NSA, started to secretly monitor mobile communications worldwide.
The SIM cards are used by such major telecommunications companies as AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint.
The revelation that GCHQ and NSA hacked into a private company to spy on millions of people comes a week after Obama signed an executive order to promote cybersecurity data sharing between the government and private sector.
The scope of exposure has not yet been assessed, but Gemalto said it would analyze the technology behind the hack, as well as the possible implications.
"What I want to understand is what sort of ramifications it has, or could have, on any of our customers," Gemalto Executive Vice President Paul Beverly told The Intercept.
The Intercept has published troves of classified documents made available by former NSA-contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden.
