Gen. Keith Alexander says the NSA does n't break into computers , or networks . But The Washington Post reports that the NSA accesses data as it moves between countries . The hearing , billed as a discussion of potential changes to the 35-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act , commonly known as FISA , came after a report by the German magazine Der Spiegel that the NSA monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel 's cell phone . Alexander did n't bother to address that specific claim . The NSA later denies using the technique to ` ` collect vast quantities of U.S. persons ' data ''
Gen. Keith Alexander says the NSA does n't break into computers , or networks . But The Washington Post reports that the NSA accesses data as it moves between countries . Alexander did n't bother to address that specific claim . The NSA later denies using the technique to ` ` collect vast quantities of U.S. persons ' data ''