Former C.I.A. Worker Says He Leaked U.S. Surveillance Data

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Former C.I.A. Worker Says He Leaked U.S. Surveillance Data
By BRIAN KNOWLTON
Published: June 9, 2013 132 Comments

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WASHINGTON — The British newspaper The Guardian on Sunday revealed the identity of the source of its information for a series of articles on surveillance practices by the National Security Agency.
 

In an article on its Web site, the newspaper identified the source as Edward Snowden, 29, a former technical assistant for the Central Intelligence Agency who has worked at the N.S.A. as an employee of outside contractors.

The British newspaper said it was revealing Mr. Snowden’s identity at his own request. It said he had decided from the moment he chose to disclose top-secret documents to the public, revealing the highly secretive data-surveillance programs, that he would not remain anonymous.

“I have no intention of hiding who I am,” he was quoted as saying, “because I know I have done nothing wrong.” But the newspaper said he was also braced for the United States government to “demonize” him.

The Guardian said that Mr. Snowden was working at the N.S.A. office in Hawaii three weeks ago when he made final preparations for his disclosures. It said he copied the documents, then advised a supervisor that he needed to be away for “a couple of weeks,” saying he required medical treatment.

He then told his girlfriend that he would be away for a few weeks.

On May 20, the newspaper reported, he boarded a flight to Hong Kong, where he remains ensconced in a luxury hotel room. He said he chose that city because of its “spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent.”

The paper said Mr. Snowden, fearing that he himself would be the object of spying, lines the door of his hotel room with pillows to prevent eavesdropping.

The Guardian last week reported the existence of a secret government program that collects data from phone calls made on the Verizon network. That newspaper and The Washington Post later reported that a separate program known as Prism was being used to collect Internet data of foreigners from Internet companies like Facebook and Skype. The source of the leaks had remained a mystery, however, generating fervid speculation.

In its account of Mr. Snowden’s motivations, The Guardian described him as a man whose patriotism and deep-seated idealism about his country suffered a stinging series of disappointments, leaving him conflicted and finally pushing him to take a step some have described as treason.

After growing up in North Carolina, he moved with his family to Maryland, near N.S.A headquarters in Fort Meade.

Though he never obtained a high school diploma, he studied computing at a community college in Maryland. He enlisted in the United States Army in 2003 and began training to join the Special Forces, he told the newspaper, helping to fight in the Iraq war “to help free people from oppression.”

But his experience was dispiriting, The Guardian reported. “Most of the people training us seemed pumped up about killing Arabs, not helping anyone,” he said. Mr. Snowden broke both legs in a training accident and received a discharge.

He then got a job as a security guard at a covert N.S.A. facility at the University of Maryland, soon moving to a computer job with the C.I.A., rising with unusual speed for someone lacking a high school diploma.

The C.I.A. sent him to Geneva in 2007; he had diplomatic cover and clearance giving him access to classified documents.

But he grew disillusioned there by the tactics he saw agency operatives use in trying to recruit a man to spy on Swiss banks, and he began thinking for the first time about exposing government secrets.

He temporized, however, fearing that his disclosures might endanger someone, and hoping that the election of Barack Obama might bring greater transparency to government.

But after taking a job for a private contractor, and being assigned to an N.S.A. facility on a military base in Japan, he said he watched “as Obama advanced the very policies that I thought would be reined in,” adding, “I got hardened.”

He has gradually embraced, with ever-greater fervor, the causes of transparency and Internet freedom.

The Guardian said he had been fully transparent himself when challenged by its reporters to confirm the authenticity of the materials he provided. It said he offered his Social Security number, even his C.I.A. identity number.

Mr. Snowden said that he admired both Daniel Ellsberg, the source of the Pentagon Papers, and Bradley Manning, the Army private who has acknowledged providing huge troves of government documents in the WikiLeaks scandal.

But he drew a contrast, saying that “I carefully evaluated every single document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest.” He said that “harming people isn’t my goal. Transparency is.”

Mr. Snowden said that he now hopes he might be granted asylum someplace – possibly Iceland – but that he is prepared for whatever happens.

“I feel satisfied that this was all worth it,” he said. “I have no regrets.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/us/former-cia-worker-says-he-leaked-surveillance-data.html?hp

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Edward Snowden was NSA Prism leak source - Guardian

Edward Snowden (picture courtesy of the Guardian) said he thought "nothing good" would happen to him as a result of his leaks
Continue reading the main story
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A former CIA technical worker has been identified by the UK's Guardian newspaper as the source of leaks about US surveillance programmes.

Edward Snowden, 29, is described by the paper as an ex-CIA technical assistant, currently employed by defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.

The Guardian said his identity was being revealed at his own request.

The recent revelations are that US agencies gathered millions of phone records and monitored internet data.

The Guardian quotes Mr Snowden as saying he flew to Hong Kong on 20 May, where he holed himself up in a hotel.

He told the paper: "I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things… I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded."

Asked what he thought would happen to him, he replied: "Nothing good."

He said he had gone to Hong Kong because of its "strong tradition of free speech".

Tracking
Continue reading the main story


How surveillance came to light
5 June: The Guardian reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) is collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon under a top secret court order
6 June: The Guardian and The Washington Post report that the NSA and the FBI are tapping into US Internet companies to track online communication in a programme known as Prism
7 June: The Guardian reports President Obama has asked intelligence agencies to draw up a list of potential overseas targets for US cyber-attacks
7 June: President Obama defends the programmes, saying they are closely overseen by Congress and the courts
8 June: US director of national intelligence James Clapper calls the leaks "literally gut-wrenching"
9 June: The Guardian names former CIA technical worker Edward Snowden as the source of the leaks
The first of the leaks came out on Wednesday night, when the Guardian reported a US secret court had ordered phone company Verizon to hand over to the National Security Agency (NSA) millions of records on telephone call "metadata".

That report was followed by revelations in both the Washington Post and Guardian that the NSA tapped directly into the servers of nine internet firms including Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to track online communication in a programme known as Prism.

All the internet companies deny giving the US government access to their servers.

Prism is said to give the NSA and FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) access to emails, web chats and other communications directly from the servers of major US internet companies.

The data are used to track foreign nationals suspected of terrorism or spying. The NSA is also collecting the telephone records of American customers, but not recording the content of their calls.

On Saturday, US director of national intelligence James Clapper called the leaks "literally gut-wrenching".

"I hope we're able to track down whoever's doing this, because it is extremely damaging to, and it affects the safety and security of this country," he told NBC News on Saturday.

Prism was reportedly established in 2007 in order to provide in-depth surveillance on live communications and stored information on foreigners overseas.

The NSA has filed a criminal report with the US Justice Department over the leaks.

The content of phone conversations - what people say to each other when they are on the phone - is protected by the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, which forbids unreasonable searches.

However, information shared with a third party, such as phone companies, is not out of bounds.

That means that data about phone calls - such as their timing and duration - can be scooped up by government officials.

Mr Clapper's office issued a statement on Saturday, saying all the information gathered under Prism was obtained with the approval of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court (Fisa).

Prism was authorised under changes to US surveillance laws passed under President George Bush and renewed last year under Barack Obama.

On Friday, Mr Obama defended the surveillance programmes as a "modest encroachment" on privacy, necessary to protect the US from terrorist attacks.

"Nobody is listening to your telephone calls. That's not what this program is about," he said, emphasising that the programmes were authorised by Congress.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22836378

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You wonder, what makes a guy like Snowden tick?

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[Plane]

Apparently Mr. Snowden can decide what is wholesome.

[BT]

I wonder who is paying the bill for that high class hong kong hotel he is staying at.

[Plane]

I wonder if he is looking forward to a long period of time with no phone tapping , in China.

[BT]

Something about this whole story stinks.

High school dropout with a GED

Special Forces washout with a medical discharge, though i wouldn't be surprised if his jacket didn't have malcontent writtten somewhere in it.

Security guard at NSA, next thing you know he is CIA in Switzerland?

This reminds me of the Falcon and the Snowman.

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"This reminds me of the Falcon and the Snowman."

Yeah, and he has a bit of the Oklahoma bomber in him to. I must admit though that he comes across as pretty bright. So far anyway. It'll be interesting to see if he tries  to turn his 15 minutes into something more.


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