US not using intelligence to steal trade secrets: White House

The US has said that it does not use its intelligence capabilities to steal trade secrets of foreign companies, amid media reports that America uses radio waves to tap into computers around the world and monitor them.
The National Security Agency (NSA) operates under heavy oversight and is focused on discovering and developing intelligence about valid and foreign intelligence targets, such as terrorists, human traffickers, and drug smugglers White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.
"They are not interested in the personal information about ordinary Americans, nor do they use foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of, or give intelligence that we collect to US companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line," Carney said.

The Press Secretary said the White House is in the final stages of wrapping up the administration's review of its intelligence programmes.
"As we've been saying, we're not going to discuss decisions and outcomes while the review is ongoing, and we wouldn't discuss observations or assessments by others about recommendations that the President himself is considering as he makes final decisions prior to his remarks at the Justice Department on Friday," he said.
Meanwhile The New York Times reported that Obama appears poised to reject many of the recommendations of his Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, a brain trust of five experts he handpicked to study US intelligence practices in the wake of disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.