NSA, GCHQ snooped on German companies: Report

New NSA leaked 'top secret' documents published by Der Spiegel shows that the British spies have been snooping on employees of several German companies, and have infiltrated their networks.

The documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the agency intended to acquire in-depth knowledge of key satellite IP service providers in Germany.

According to Der Spiegel, the undated document states that the goal of the effort was developing wider knowledge of Internet traffic flowing through Germany.

The document which comprises of 26 pages specifically mentions three German companies namely Stellar, Cetel and IABG that have been targeted by the GCHQ for surveillance.

The top-secret GCHQ paper showed that the agency was trying to identify important customers of the German teleport providers, their technology suppliers as well as future technical trends in their business sector.

The document also listed the names and e-mail addresses of 16 employees of Stellar.

Expressing shock over the revelation, Stellar CEO Steffen said that he had not been aware of any attempts by intelligence services to infiltrate or hack his company.