> "When national security programs are hobby-level, you really have to worry that anybody else can do them."
It's not really surprising that bulk surveillance is simple, in my opinion. The act of collection/surveillance itself isn't the hard part. It's doing it on a much larger scale.
Wardriving a Starbucks as a hobby is slightly different than installing a specialized device into every downtown DC Starbucks, even if functionally both do the same thing (collect data and/or injection).
It's not really surprising that bulk surveillance is simple, in my opinion. The act of collection/surveillance itself isn't the hard part. It's doing it on a much larger scale.
Wardriving a Starbucks as a hobby is slightly different than installing a specialized device into every downtown DC Starbucks, even if functionally both do the same thing (collect data and/or injection).