The United Nations Headquarters is seen during the General Assembly in New York, September 25, 2012. Photo: Reuters

(VOVworld)- Der Spiegel reported Sunday that the National Security Agency (NSA) planted tracking devices at UN headquarters in New York. The magazine said that through analyzing documents provided by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, they discovered that the NSA hacked the UN’s internal video conferencing system and unlocked its codes last summer. Within 3 weeks, the number of UN meetings being decoded by the NSA increased from 12 to 458. The NSA also spied on the European Union (EU) after they moved to a new address in New York last September. Information on the NSA’s plans, IT infrastructure, and servers was in the documents released by Snowden. The magazine also discovered that the NSA is directing a program called “Special collection service” to spy on more than 80 embassies and consulates around the world. An NSA internal document urged that the existence of the program be kept secret at all costs or relations with other countries could be seriously damaged.