This is the most wanted man in the world. He has been charged with espionage and hunted by the government since 2013. Now, he has been given Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin himself. He is the US government’s Enemy Number One.
On June 6, 2013, a series of reports by The Guardian and The Washington Post rocked the world. Top-secret documents detailing the activities of the National Security Agency (NSA) were leaked by an unidentified source. Americans found out that the US government was spying on them. Three days later, Edward Snowden came forward. He was a 29-year-old high school dropout whose computer abilities had landed him jobs with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and as an NSA contractor.
But in his short time with the NSA, he discovered that it had dangerously overreached itself. During his employment, Edward Snowden came across material that exposed an almost limitless government surveillance program. Since then, he has been wanted for one of the most significant national security leaks in U.S. history. One may wonder, what exactly was in those documents?
To begin with, it was revealed that the NSA had a secret program called Prism. This system provided the government with a backdoor to access private user data from companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook. Additionally, there was a secret court order allowing the collection of telephone records from millions of Verizon customers. This included not only criminals but also law-abiding citizens.
Furthermore, there was an 18-page presidential memo showing Obama ordering intelligence officials to create a list of overseas targets for cyber attacks. All of this was just the tip of the iceberg. The NSA was also hacking computers in Hong Kong and mainland China, some of which were military systems.
It also tapped the mobile phone of Germany’s chancellor at the time, Angela Merkel. It even revealed that Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) was conducting mass surveillance of its citizens. Not to mention, both the NSA and GCHQ had discussed methods of deception, including the use of propaganda, mass messaging, and stories on social media to influence people. The list was endless. In fact, National Intelligence officials believe Edward Snowden had downloaded nearly 2 million files.
How did he manage to sneak out sensitive documents from a top-secret government facility? Well, he didn’t use any sophisticated hacking software or devices. Believe it or not, all he used were thumb drives. But that doesn’t mean it was easy. Snowden had to carefully plan the leak and his escape. He had three things working in his favor
Number one: Location
Snowden was contracted to the NSA by a company called Booz | Allen | Hamilton. He was based in Hawaii, five thousand miles away from the prying eyes of everyone at the NSA’s headquarters in Maryland. He was also six hours behind them. So, while most people had left the office for the day, Snowden’s workday was barely halfway through.
Number Two: Thin Client System
Snowden had access to the NSA headquarters’ servers via a computer system called Thin Client. Thin Client is a simple computer that provides users with access to specific types of files based on their profile. However, the setup was outdated, and Snowden was no ordinary user – he was a system administrator. Unlike other NSA users who had restrictions on the classified information they could access, Snowden’s high-security clearance granted him more privileges. At his level, he was the auditor, which means he could impersonate any other user, access the NSA’s internet without leaving any traces, and essentially function as a ghost user if he wanted to.
Number Three: Job Profile
As a system administrator and analyst, he had the authority to use thumb drives. He could literally copy information from one computer to another without raising any suspicions. After only working for just four weeks with the NSA in Hawaii, Snowden decided it was time for the world to know what they had been doing. However, he knew that no one would believe him without any proof. So, he downloaded the documents without raising any suspicion and cleverly snuck the thumb drives past security. The next day, he requested a leave of absence without pay and extended it by claiming he was suffering from epilepsy. However, when he stopped answering phone calls and didn’t return, the authorities suspected something was wrong. The NSA began looking for him.
By then, Snowden had made his way from Hawaii to the safety of Hong Kong. He met two trusted journalists, Glenn Greenwald, and Laura Poitras, and provided them with the story that would change the way people looked at the government forever. Snowden’s leaks sparked debates about the NSA’s secret powers all over the world.In the end, he was charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of defense information, and willful communication of classified information to an unauthorized person. Despite the US’s efforts to extradite him from Hong Kong, Snowden managed to board a plane to Russia.
Initially, he was granted asylum after Putin stated that Russia had no extradition agreement with the U.S. However, Putin did express that Snowden was wrong to reveal U.S. secrets. Snowden attempted to seek asylum in 21 countries but was unsuccessful. He stated that all the countries he applied to tried to avoid giving him an answer.
Eventually, he was granted permanent residency in Russia in 2020, and in September 2022, Putin granted him Russian citizenship. While some people view Snowden as a traitor, millions believe he is a hero for risking his life and exposing the unwanted actions of the U.S., the UK, and their allies.
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