Tech Giants are Beefing Up their Security to Combat Government Spying

Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter are engaged in a costly tech arms race, with their businesses and cultures at stake. Not against one another, mind you, but a common foe: the National Security Agency. 

The tech juggernauts are investing in security technology, lobbying efforts and good old-fashioned PR to thwart U.S. government snooping of their data systems, often without their cooperation or knowledge.

For months, the narrative has focused on data breaches and spying as tech's biggest players quietly stewed over a sense of government betrayal, while assessing threats to their brands because of consumer outrage over invasion of their privacy. The breaches, and their threat to company reputations, are collateral damage of the government's war on terrorism. 

"This may be the first time a computer-security problem has had such sustained interest on a national level," says Stephen Cobb, senior security researcher at cybersecurity firm ESET North America.

Google, Facebook and others are pouring money into security, mirroring an industry-wide trend. Cyber IT budgets are expected to soar from $65 billion this year to $93 billion in 2017, says tech market researcher Gartner. Last week, Microsoft confirmed that it plans to step up its cyberdefenses to thwart the NSA. 

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Still, many online users have expectations of privacy. So tech titans are fighting back by improving their security and using legal and public relations maneuvers to combat government spying. 

Here's what some of the biggest companies are doing...

Find out the specifics of what these Tech Giants are doing and read the full story HERE.

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