Edward Snowden: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Edward Joseph Snowden''' (born June 21, 1983) is an [[United States|American]] [[computer professional]], former employee of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) and former [[defense contractor|contractor]] for the [[National Security Agency]] (NSA). He came to international attention when he disclosed thousands of [[Classified information|classified documents]] to several media outlets, which he had acquired while working for the American consulting firm [[Booz Allen Hamilton]].<ref name=NYTimesCryptic>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/us/how-edward-j-snowden-orchestrated-a-blockbuster-story.html?hp|title=Cryptic Overtures and a Clandestine Meeting Gave Birth to a Blockbuster Story|date=June 10, 2013|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|first1=Charlie|last1=Savage|first2=Mark|last2=Mazzetti}}</ref><ref name=GuardianSimpleTech>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/09/edward-snowden-used-simple-technology-nsa|title=Snowden used simple technology to mine NSA computer networks|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 9, 2014|first=Rory|last=Carroll}}</ref> Snowden's release of classified material has been described as the most significant [[news leak|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 [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]] charged Snowden with [[espionage]] on June 21,<ref name="wapocharges"/> and the [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]] revoked his passport the next day. On June 23, substituting a temporary Ecuadorian [[Safe conduct|travel document]] for his cancelled passport,<ref name=EcuadorBlunder>{{cite news |title=Ecuador says it blundered over Snowden travel document |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/02/ecuador-rafael-correa-snowden-mistake |newspaper=The Guardian |date=July 3, 2013 |location=London |first=Rory |last=Carroll}}</ref> Snowden flew to Moscow's [[Sheremetyevo International Airport]]. According to Russian sources, Snowden was ticketed for onward flight to Latin America via Cuba.<ref>{{cite web|title=Snowden not on flight to Cuba, whereabouts unclear|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nsa-leaker-snowden-expected-fly-cuba|work=AP|accessdate=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Snowden has ticket to Cuba, may go to Venezuela: Russian reports|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/23/us-usa-security-russia-cuba-idUSBRE95M04E20130623|work=Reuters|accessdate=11 April 2014|date=June 23, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Snowden Calls Russian-Spy Story “Absurd” in Exclusive Interview|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/01/snowden-calls-russian-spy-story-absurd.html|work=[[The New Yorker]]|accessdate=11 April 2014}}</ref> Why Snowden did not board that flight is unclear.<ref>Bradley Campbell (14 February 2014), [http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-02-14/story-edward-snowden-so-unbelievable-sometimes-you-forget-its-nonfiction The story of Edward Snowden is so unbelievable, sometimes you forget it's nonfiction] ''[[Public Radio International|PRI]]''</ref><ref>Benjamin Bidder (26 June 2013), [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/edward-snowden-whistleblower-still-missing-at-moscow-airport-a-908023.html Moscow Phantom: Where In the World Is Edward Snowden?] ''[[Der Spiegel]]''</ref> On June 27, Ecuador publicly canceled his safe passage, saying it was issued without official authorization.<ref name=EcuadorBlunder /> Snowden allegedly remained stranded in the airport transit zone until August 1, when the Russian government granted him a one-year temporary renewable [[Right of asylum | 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 (surveillance program)|PRISM]] electronic data mining program, the [[XKeyscore]] analytical tool, the [[Tempora]] interception project, the [[MUSCULAR]] access point and the massive [[FASCIA (database)|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 webcam images via the [[Optic Nerve (GCHQ)|Optic Nerve]] program.