In order to obtain a copy of the NSA's main XKeyscore software, whose existence was first revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013, Germany's domestic intelligence agency agreed to hand over metadata of German citizens it spies on.

After 18 months of negotiations, the US and Germany signed an agreement in April 2013 that would allow the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution to obtain a copy of the NSA's most important program and to adopt it for the analysis of data gathered in Germany. This was a lower level of access compared to the non-US "Five Eyes" nations which had direct access to the main XKeyscore system.

The US National Security Agency's infamous XKeyscore mass surveillance tool, first brought to light by whistleblower Edward Snowden, makes tracking people as easy as Googling their name, according to newly published documents.

The top-secret documents relating to XKeyscore detail how around 150 field sites in the US and abroad sweep up people's internet searches, emails, documents, usernames and passwords, and other private communications. In order to access all of a target's web activity and communications, all that is needed is the person's email address, telephone number, or other identifying data.

Wikipedia is taking steps to make its site ‘unsnoopable’ to the NSA following revelations that its site users were being spied on. The measures will include the use of secure encryption for its logged-in users to minimize eavesdropping. 

The non-profit US-based organization that manages Wikipedia, Wikimedia, has released a statement, announcing the introduction of HTTPS security protocol on its website to protect its visitors. Wikipedia believes strongly in protecting the privacy of its readers and editors. Recent leaks of the NSA’s XKeyscore program have prompted our community members to push for the use of HTTPS by default for the Wikimedia projects.