From the slides leaked at 31c3 and by Der Spiegel that's not the case.
They want everything.
Even if you're not a target you're of interest -- either as a vector to a target.(someone you know, regardless how many "hops") some thing you have (information, or equipment/infrastructure as a proxy or platform for attack)
Think of this example: you've ssh access coincidentally to a VPS on the same metal that coincidentally runs another VPS that belongs to a guy, who as a favour runs a totally separate server that hosts a "bad dude"(tm). Everybody in that chain and everybody connected to every one involved with the hardware are direct targets, all of their work colleagues are for the same reason.
Now extend that up and down every technological stack and industry and you'll see how capricious the notion is.
And if you're not a US citizen, you've no rights so who gives a shit? If you happen to be a US citizen, you've still no rights because the people targetting you will just be members of another Five Eyes organisation.
Ok... First, if they're using my VPS to get to someone else's... um. Ok. So it really doesn't affect me. Sorry about your neighbor. He should cover his ass better and not keep top fkin secret info on a god damn VPS.
Oh, and even if this were like a possible scenario, why not just open random accounts until they strike gold? Or infiltrate the datacenter with a mind reading quad copter drone and plug a usb drive into your machine? I mean honestly, there's a 1000x easier ways to do this. The NSA isn't after your shit. Get over yourself and quit drinking the koolaid.
Yes, if it's on the gaurdian and snowden said it then it's got to be some sort of biblical truth.
Or, there's the simpler explanation, like you're really fkin irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Chances are, if they want your shit, they could just stop you for a traffic stop, incarcerate you, waterboard the shit out of you until you cried and gave up your 4096 bit RSA key so they could read your private journal about your sad paranoid life.
These fkin ERMMGH NSA TAKIN YER SHIT articles are really stupid.
Yeah, my shit is irrelevant. My machine is not though. When attacking other, relevant systems, agency will always use infested low-key systems as a hop.
Is this a valid reason to harden security of your machines? Yes, it is.
