The reason why we know so much about what the NSA does is because a few NSA contractors have broken the law (for good or for ill) and leaked classified information about operations. Without leaks, there would be no information about what NSA does or doesn't do.
The only difference between NSA and FSB is that FSB hasn't used as many contractors and hasn't had as many leakers in Snowden-like positions.
FSB has lots of contractors leak though. They just disappear and are never heard from again. Such as Ruslan Stoyanov.
Of course government agencies don't want to expose their secrets voluntarily. They have to be dragged into the open kicking and screaming. Doesn't mean that they aren't, though.
What I don't trust is the NSA to not break things. Its core to their mission. Is the anyone who is capable of and willing to make products with an assurance of security and privacy? Is there any webcam that I can trust to never spy on me? Any device that isn't leaving my precise location - even when Wi-Fi is off? Is there any firewall I can trust to keep snoops out? Any software that isn't vulnerable to NSA interference? They're ac advanced persistent threat for a reason and we shouldn't forget that.
Except it's not. It's because of leakers who were aggressively pursued/prosecuted by the US government...
Isn't that _exactly_ how it works in the USA, with National Security Letters?
Even with the most egregious abuses of these National Security Letters, their scope is still limited and they have to have justification for whatever they demand. There is a record of such letters, which can be examined, for example by politicians in congress or the next administration. Companies can even challenge these letters. And they are still leaked all the time.
I doubt it works that way in Russia.
You mean the FISA Court that Russ Tice once described as a "kangaroo court with a rubber stamp" and that approves over 99% of applications? Is that 1% rejection rate in a closed door court where due process lives?
I mean, I'll grant you that it's _worse_ in Russia; they don't even have that 1%, and the scope of abuse is much broader.
But I do wonder if part of the propaganda value of the aforementioned Red Scare is to drive attention away from domestic abuses.
Still that is a whole lot more "due process" than in Russia. And FISA only applies in relatively few circumstances.
There is no transparency in Russia. In a system of kleptocracy, bribery and a questionable judicial system, there is no boundary between state actors and any "private" corporation. If the FSB asks Kasperski for help, they can't say no, and they won't tell.
If given the choice, I'd still rather trust American intelligence services. In fact, I do believe American products to be safer in this regard.