Was This NSA 'Hack' a Russian Plot or an Inside Job?

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this segment. 

This week, a group calling themselves the "Shadow Brokers" posted files online that say are straight from the NSA. The files, which appear to be legitimate, are not simply emails or internal memos, but lines of hacking code that amount to "cyber weapons" from an NSA offshoot called the "Equation Group" — the most sophisticated hacking collective in the world. 

Was this a Russian hack or an inside job? The answer to that question remains unknown, but it's clear that some of the NSA's most closely guarded files have been compromised. 

Nicholas Weaver, a researcher at the International Computer Science Institute, and Steven Levy, founder and editor-in-chief of Backchannel, join The Takeaway to discuss the specifics of the case, and the implications for the NSA, and even American foreign policy. Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear the full conversation.