Edward Joseph Snowden is an American computer professional, former
employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and former contractor
for the National Security Agency (NSA).
He came to international attention when he disclosed thousands of classified documents to several media outlets, which he had acquired while working for the American consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.
Snowden's release of classified material has been described as the most significant leak in U.S. history by Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg.
In May 2013, Snowden flew from Hawaii to Hong Kong, where he met with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras and released numerous documents to them. With his permission, the journalists later revealed his identity to the international media. The U.S. Department of Justice charged Snowden with espionage on June 21, the U.S. Department of State revoked his passport the next day. On June 23, substituting a temporary Ecuadorian travel document for his cancelled passport, Snowden flew to Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. According to Russian sources, Snowden was ticketed for onward flight to Latin America via Cuba. Why Snowden did not board that flight is unclear. On June 27, Ecuador publicly cancelled his safe passage, saying it was issued without official authorisation. Snowden remained stranded in the airport transit zone until August 1st when the Russian government granted him a one-year temporary renewable asylum.
Snowden's leaked documents uncovered the existence of numerous global surveillance programs, many of them run by the NSA and the Five Eyes with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments. In 2013, the existence of the Boundless Informant was revealed, along with the PRISM electronic data mining program, the XKeyscore analytical tool, the Tempora interception project, the MUSCULAR access point and the massive FASCIA database, which contains trillions of device-location records. In the following year, Britain's Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group was revealed, along with the Dishfire database, Squeaky Dolphin's real-time monitoring of social media networks, and the bulk collection of private web cam images via the Optic Nerve program.
A subject of controversy, Snowden has been variously called a hero, a whistle blower, a dissident, a traitor, and a patriot.
Snowden's "sole motive" for leaking the documents was, in his words, "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them." The disclosures have fuelled debates over mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national security and information privacy. Two court rulings since the initial leaks have split on the constitutionality of the NSA's bulk collection of telephone metadata. Snowden is considered a defendant by American authorities.
In early 2014, some media outlets and politicians called for leniency in the form of clemency, amnesty or pardon, while others called for him to be imprisoned, ex-CIA director James Woolsey said that Snowden should be hanged if convicted of treason, and anonymous "spies" want him murdered. He lives in an undisclosed location in Russia, and is seeking asylum in the European Union. Snowden currently holds a three-year post as Rector of the University of Glasgow and serves on the Freedom of the Press Foundation board of directors.
"I personally take my hat off to Edward Snowden!! I believe that the public has a right to know what kind of world we are living in! With out the public there would be NO governments! Without us they would be nothing!"
Please leave your thoughts on this as it would be interesting to hear peoples views on the matter.
Many Thanks
D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F
He came to international attention when he disclosed thousands of classified documents to several media outlets, which he had acquired while working for the American consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.
Snowden's release of classified material has been described as the most significant leak in U.S. history by Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg.
In May 2013, Snowden flew from Hawaii to Hong Kong, where he met with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras and released numerous documents to them. With his permission, the journalists later revealed his identity to the international media. The U.S. Department of Justice charged Snowden with espionage on June 21, the U.S. Department of State revoked his passport the next day. On June 23, substituting a temporary Ecuadorian travel document for his cancelled passport, Snowden flew to Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. According to Russian sources, Snowden was ticketed for onward flight to Latin America via Cuba. Why Snowden did not board that flight is unclear. On June 27, Ecuador publicly cancelled his safe passage, saying it was issued without official authorisation. Snowden remained stranded in the airport transit zone until August 1st when the Russian government granted him a one-year temporary renewable asylum.
Snowden's leaked documents uncovered the existence of numerous global surveillance programs, many of them run by the NSA and the Five Eyes with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments. In 2013, the existence of the Boundless Informant was revealed, along with the PRISM electronic data mining program, the XKeyscore analytical tool, the Tempora interception project, the MUSCULAR access point and the massive FASCIA database, which contains trillions of device-location records. In the following year, Britain's Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group was revealed, along with the Dishfire database, Squeaky Dolphin's real-time monitoring of social media networks, and the bulk collection of private web cam images via the Optic Nerve program.
A subject of controversy, Snowden has been variously called a hero, a whistle blower, a dissident, a traitor, and a patriot.
Snowden's "sole motive" for leaking the documents was, in his words, "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them." The disclosures have fuelled debates over mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national security and information privacy. Two court rulings since the initial leaks have split on the constitutionality of the NSA's bulk collection of telephone metadata. Snowden is considered a defendant by American authorities.
In early 2014, some media outlets and politicians called for leniency in the form of clemency, amnesty or pardon, while others called for him to be imprisoned, ex-CIA director James Woolsey said that Snowden should be hanged if convicted of treason, and anonymous "spies" want him murdered. He lives in an undisclosed location in Russia, and is seeking asylum in the European Union. Snowden currently holds a three-year post as Rector of the University of Glasgow and serves on the Freedom of the Press Foundation board of directors.
"I personally take my hat off to Edward Snowden!! I believe that the public has a right to know what kind of world we are living in! With out the public there would be NO governments! Without us they would be nothing!"
Please leave your thoughts on this as it would be interesting to hear peoples views on the matter.
Many Thanks
D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F
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