This whirlwind overview of massive government surveilance and hacking is from 2014. Although I'm sure several of the programs are now defunct, I'm also sure that, like they Hydra's heads, when one program is cut off, 50 more spring up in its place. As time goes by, everyone's technology improves, including the hackers', meaning that today's secret programs are probably just as far reaching an insideous, if not more so.
There are several interesting things about this article, but the most salient are,
- the scope (both bredath and depth) of these programs, and the number of devices involved,
- the fact that these programs are quite literally distributing malware (worms, viruses, etc); many are zero-day exploits. If an individual were responsible for disceminating this kind of softwar, firmware, what-have-you, she would be considered a notorious criminal.
https://theintercept.com/2014/03/12/nsa-plans-infect-millions-computers-malware/