Leaked docs: NSA uses 'Candy Crush,' 'Angry Birds' to spy

The National Security Agency has targeted popular smartphone-based social games like “Candy Crush” and “Angry Birds” to pilfer personal information, including phone numbers, e-mails and codes that identify the user's device, according to documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Among the so-called leaky apps with the greatest privacy perils are Google's Google Plus, Pinterest's online bulletin board and “Candy Crush,” the most popular game on Facebook, according to an analysis by Zscaler Inc.

While Facebook and Google typically encrypt personal data, the feds have focused on advertising services that use the information to pitch goods and services to consumers.

The reach of apps, and of the networks advertisers use to pass data around, make them natural eavesdropping targets and are aiding a shift in the focus of surveillance efforts away from personal computers, said Kevin Mahaffey, co-founder and chief technology officer of Lookout Inc. in San Francisco.