If downloading apps from the Play store is confidential, think twice as the National Security Agency is planning to use this platform to infect smartphones with malware and track them. 

According to Mashable, it was revealed that the U.S.-headquartered National Security Agency had hatched a detailed plan which would lead to a situation where people's phones would be infected with a malware, each time they try to download their favourite app. What is more surprising is that the authorities had hatched a detailed plan way back in 2011. This is clearly indicated by the documents discovered, dated 2011 and 2012.

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Currently, the documents have been published in The Intercept on Thursday. These documents also tell us that the plan was called irritant horn as a code name and was aimed at exploring the connections between smartphones and app stores using it as a medium to collect more data.

However, there is still no confirmation on whether or not the plan was carried. Though one thing does emerge clearly is that the security agency was quite keen on developing methods to peep into the personal lives of people and get more data.

As per Firstlook, the shocking news was reportedly revealed during the Edward Snowden controversy as the NSA whistle blower gave an insight into NSA's secret operations. They were recently published for the external audience. There are several other details revealed in the document which show that NSA had been using specific software to analyse the smartphone traffic across these portals, and was intrigued by the idea of using malware to get access into the otherwise secure data.

There have been several other disclosures by Snowden that have once again shifted focus to the increasing threat of the privacy of people and their data, through gadgets like smartphones, iPads, etc. There are also rumours about the development of software to spy iPhones, tablets, etc. The connection would put NSA in the role of a middle man ensuring that they have complete control over the data being exchanged between two targeted phones. 

Of late, there has been a lot of controversy in this regard and even the American Senate is looking for ways to aptly address the issue for the local populace. 

TagsEdward Snowden, NSA, Security Leaks, Tech News, Malware