Privacy security

British and Americans spy on in-flight phone calls 'in real time', leaked Snowden files reveal

British and American spy agencies regularly intercept voice and data calls from phones made on board civil aircraft around the world, and the snooping has increased with the spread of in-flight calls, leaked classified files have revealed.

Intelligence agents at the UK Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, and America's National Security Agency, NSA, are able to identify and intercept individuals' phones on most commercial flights in "near real time" via a triangulation process using passenger lists, satellites and ground detectors.

They can even scramble phones so users switch them back on in order to steal the security code, documents by Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor, reportedly reveal.