It's a given that hackers can and do penetrate websites with laughable ease, ranging from those of retailers to those of the United States government. It certainly doesn't help the security-minded to know that the U.S. National Security Agency and other countries' spy agencies, including the UK's GCHQ and the West German intelligence agency, are tapping into online communications at will.

Credit: Reuters/Damir Sagolj The official match ball for the 2014 World Cup, the ''Brazuca'' , is displayed on the table before a news conference at the Corinthians arena in Sao Paulo June 11, 2014.