The guy wearing the tinfoil hat might not be as crazy as we thought

[Couperin47]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/16/us-usa-cyberspying-idUSKBN0LK1QV20150216
 
basically, the NSA has been embedding spyware deep in the firmware of pretty much all hard drives.

 

[crystalline]

Theres plenty to be worried about at the NSA, including their efforts to read all Internet traffic.

It looks like this hard drive firmware attack, however, is not widespread. It's a method for tools like Stuxnet to avoid deletion, likely to be used by US teams targeting machines at places like Iranian nuclear plants.
From Kaspersky
http://blog.kaspersky.com/equation-hdd-malware/

Some press reports on Equations story go as far as saying this enables hackers to eavesdrop on the majority of the worlds computers. However, we want to lower the level of drama. This ability will remain as rare as pandas walking across the street.

 

[Couperin47]

Oh, no question, I'm quite sure they couldn't care less about you or me, it's only targeted at those who their other wholesale sweeps make them curious about or who are related to their 'usual suspects'.