Officials claim Snowden did not gain access to NSA 'crown jewels'

The US National Security Agency (NSA) reportedly said that whistleblower Edward Snowden did not gain to the agency's 'crown jewels' - the programs that secretly intercept and monitor conversations around the world.

As the Obama administration is analyzing what all classified data Snowden laid his hands on and what damage he may have caused, the damage assessment reveals that he did not gain access to the 'extremely compartmentalized information' (ECI), CNN reports.

The security official said that NSA remains adamant that Snowden's revelations caused serious damage and believes that it knows the extent of the material that was downloaded.

He further added that just because someone has the blueprints doesn't mean he has the manual.

The report added that NSA has recently refreshed its 'data access rules' for its employees so as to limit the access and have stricter norms to avoid such leaks.