Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American computer specialist, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, and former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who disclosed up to 200,000 classified documents to the press. Details released from the cache have revolved primarily around the NSA mass surveillance program, and to a lesser extent, its counterparts such as the British, Israeli, Canadian, Australian and Norwegian secret service agencies.
Snowden's release of NSA material was called the most significant leak in U.S. history by Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg. A series of exposés was published in May 2013 revealing Internet surveillance programs such as PRISM, XKeyscore and Tempora, as well as the interception of US and European telephone metadata. The reports were based on disclosures Snowden leaked to The Guardian and The Washington Post while employed by NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. By November 2013, the Guardian had published 1 percent of the documents, with "the worst yet to come".
A subject of controversy, Snowden has been variously called a hero, a whistleblower, a dissident, a traitor, and a patriot. According to Snowden, his "sole motive" for leaking the documents was "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."The disclosures have fueled debates over mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national security and information privacy.
Snowden is considered a fugitive by American authorities who have charged him with espionage and theft of government property. He is currently living in Russia under temporary asylum.
Snowden first made contact with Glenn Greenwald, a journalist working at The Guardian, in late 2012. He contacted Greenwald anonymously and said he had "sensitive documents" that he would like to share. Greenwald found the measures that the source asked him to take to secure their communications, such as encrypting email, too annoying to employ. Snowden then contacted documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras in January 2013. According to Poitras, Snowden chose to contact her after seeing her report on NSA whistleblower William Binney in The New York Times. The Guardian reported that what originally attracted Snowden to both Greenwald and Poitras was a Salon article penned by Greenwald detailing how Poitras' controversial films had made her a "target of the government". Greenwald began working with Snowden in either February or in April after Poitras asked Greenwald to meet her in New York City, at which point Snowden began providing documents to them both. Barton Gellman, writing for The Washington Post, says his first "direct contact" was on May 16, 2013. According to Gellman, Snowden approached Greenwald after the Post declined to guarantee publication of all 41 of the PRISM PowerPoint slides within 72 hours and publish online an encrypted code allowing Snowden the ability to later prove that he was the source.
Snowden communicated using encrypted email, using the codename "Verax". He asked not to be quoted at length for fear of identification by semantic analysis.
According to Gellman, prior to their first meeting in person, Snowden wrote, "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end." Snowden also told Gellman that until the articles were published, the journalists working with him would also be at mortal risk from the United States Intelligence Community "if they think you are the single point of failure that could stop this disclosure and make them the sole owner of this information."
In May 2013, Snowden was permitted temporary leave from his position at the NSA in Hawaii, on the pretext of receiving treatment for his epilepsy. In mid-May Snowden gave an electronic interview to Poitras and Jacob Appelbaum which was published weeks later by Der Spiegel. On May 20, 2013, Snowden flew to Hong Kong, where he was staying when the initial articles about the NSA that he had leaked were published. Among other specifics, Snowden divulged the existence and functions of several classified US surveillance programs and their scope, including notably PRISM, NSA call database, and Boundless Informant. He also revealed details of Tempora, a British black-ops surveillance program run by the NSA's British partner, GCHQ. In July 2013, Greenwald stated that Snowden had additional sensitive information about the NSA that he has chosen not to make public, including "very sensitive, detailed blueprints of how the NSA does what they do". In September 2013, the existence of a classified decryption program codenamed Bullrun was revealed.
By October 2013, Snowden's disclosures had created tensions between the US and some of its close allies after they revealed the US had spied on countries including France, Mexico, Germany, Brazil, Britain, China, and Spain, as well as 35 world leaders.
NSA Director Keith Alexander later estimated that Snowden was in the process of leaking anywhere from 50,000-200,000 documents.[97] Most of the documents focus on the NSA mass surveillance program in the US. Included are documents about surveillance programs of Great Britain Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Israel's Urim SIGINT Base (ISNU), the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS).
The Guardian's editor-in-chief said in November 2013 that only 1 percent of the documents released had been published. Officials warned that "the worst is yet to come", a sentiment echoed by Glenn Greenwald and by Lon Snowden.
Snowden's release of NSA material was called the most significant leak in U.S. history by Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg. A series of exposés was published in May 2013 revealing Internet surveillance programs such as PRISM, XKeyscore and Tempora, as well as the interception of US and European telephone metadata. The reports were based on disclosures Snowden leaked to The Guardian and The Washington Post while employed by NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. By November 2013, the Guardian had published 1 percent of the documents, with "the worst yet to come".
A subject of controversy, Snowden has been variously called a hero, a whistleblower, a dissident, a traitor, and a patriot. According to Snowden, his "sole motive" for leaking the documents was "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."The disclosures have fueled debates over mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national security and information privacy.
Snowden is considered a fugitive by American authorities who have charged him with espionage and theft of government property. He is currently living in Russia under temporary asylum.
Snowden first made contact with Glenn Greenwald, a journalist working at The Guardian, in late 2012. He contacted Greenwald anonymously and said he had "sensitive documents" that he would like to share. Greenwald found the measures that the source asked him to take to secure their communications, such as encrypting email, too annoying to employ. Snowden then contacted documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras in January 2013. According to Poitras, Snowden chose to contact her after seeing her report on NSA whistleblower William Binney in The New York Times. The Guardian reported that what originally attracted Snowden to both Greenwald and Poitras was a Salon article penned by Greenwald detailing how Poitras' controversial films had made her a "target of the government". Greenwald began working with Snowden in either February or in April after Poitras asked Greenwald to meet her in New York City, at which point Snowden began providing documents to them both. Barton Gellman, writing for The Washington Post, says his first "direct contact" was on May 16, 2013. According to Gellman, Snowden approached Greenwald after the Post declined to guarantee publication of all 41 of the PRISM PowerPoint slides within 72 hours and publish online an encrypted code allowing Snowden the ability to later prove that he was the source.
Snowden communicated using encrypted email, using the codename "Verax". He asked not to be quoted at length for fear of identification by semantic analysis.
According to Gellman, prior to their first meeting in person, Snowden wrote, "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end." Snowden also told Gellman that until the articles were published, the journalists working with him would also be at mortal risk from the United States Intelligence Community "if they think you are the single point of failure that could stop this disclosure and make them the sole owner of this information."
In May 2013, Snowden was permitted temporary leave from his position at the NSA in Hawaii, on the pretext of receiving treatment for his epilepsy. In mid-May Snowden gave an electronic interview to Poitras and Jacob Appelbaum which was published weeks later by Der Spiegel. On May 20, 2013, Snowden flew to Hong Kong, where he was staying when the initial articles about the NSA that he had leaked were published. Among other specifics, Snowden divulged the existence and functions of several classified US surveillance programs and their scope, including notably PRISM, NSA call database, and Boundless Informant. He also revealed details of Tempora, a British black-ops surveillance program run by the NSA's British partner, GCHQ. In July 2013, Greenwald stated that Snowden had additional sensitive information about the NSA that he has chosen not to make public, including "very sensitive, detailed blueprints of how the NSA does what they do". In September 2013, the existence of a classified decryption program codenamed Bullrun was revealed.
By October 2013, Snowden's disclosures had created tensions between the US and some of its close allies after they revealed the US had spied on countries including France, Mexico, Germany, Brazil, Britain, China, and Spain, as well as 35 world leaders.
NSA Director Keith Alexander later estimated that Snowden was in the process of leaking anywhere from 50,000-200,000 documents.[97] Most of the documents focus on the NSA mass surveillance program in the US. Included are documents about surveillance programs of Great Britain Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Israel's Urim SIGINT Base (ISNU), the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS).
The Guardian's editor-in-chief said in November 2013 that only 1 percent of the documents released had been published. Officials warned that "the worst is yet to come", a sentiment echoed by Glenn Greenwald and by Lon Snowden.
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