Former CIA and NSA employee source of intelligence leaks

[Sheilbh]

There is the question someone asked on my Twitter tonight of how Daniel Ellsberg would be viewed had he leaked the Vietnam papers from a hotel in, say, East Berlin.

[katmai]

So should i be outraged yet?

[Phillip V]

"Edward Snowden is a high school dropout. How did he land a $122,000-a-year job in a sensitive government program?"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/12/hackers-cyber-nsa-intelligence/2413183/

[KRonn]

"Edward Snowden is a high school dropout. How did he land a $122,000-a-year job in a sensitive government program?"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/12/hackers-cyber-nsa-intelligence/2413183/

Right, and how many more like him have access to this sensitive info? Info on all American's activities of all kinds, web, phone calls, more.

[11B4V]

"Edward Snowden is a high school dropout. How did he land a $122,000-a-year job in a sensitive government program?"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/12/hackers-cyber-nsa-intelligence/2413183/

What was his other education. Did he just drop out and that's it? Or get a GED and move on to college?

[Admiral Yi]

GED.  Army, Special Forces training, injury, discharged, diplomatic security (cybersecurity?) in Switzerland, then Spookland.

[Phillip V]

GED --> Army enlistment --> booted out after 4 months due to bad medical --> hired by NSA as a security guard --> hired by CIA as entry-level IT technician --> left after 1 year with super security clearance and spent a few years making big bucks as government contractor (Dell, Booz, etc.) --> traitor scum

[11B4V]

GED --> Army enlistment --> booted out after 4 months due to bad medical --> hired by NSA as a security guard --> hired by CIA as entry-level IT technician --> left after 1 year with super security clearance and spent a few years making big bucks as government contractor (Dell, Booz, etc.) --> traitor scum

Wow.  and yes to the bolded

[CountDeMoney]

"Edward Snowden is a high school dropout. How did he land a $122,000-a-year job in a sensitive government program?"

Because it has been determined that is now considered acceptable in certain skill set circles.

[11B4V]

(Newser) – Edward Snowden didn't need any high-tech gadgetry to make off with the NSA's surveillance secrets—all it took was a humble thumb drive, reports the Los Angeles Times. Authorities have determined that the former contractor used the portable device to smuggle out his classified data, and they "know how many documents he downloaded and what server he took them from," a source tells the newspaper.

What they still don't know is why Snowden had access to such high-level documents, including an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and another from President Obama on setting up cybertargets. Why would the NSA allow employees to have thumb drives around classified stuff? Well, the LAT explains that the devices are supposed to be banned, but enforcement sounds a little loosey-goosey. "There are people who need to use a thumb drive and they have special permission," says one former NSA official. "But when you use one, people always look at you funny."

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-snowden-nsa-secrets-thumb-drive-20130613,0,791040.story

[Tamas]

Great. So they can bury the case under personal attacks against the guy.

[CountDeMoney]

Great. So they can bury the case under personal attacks against the guy.

It's not personal attacks, it merely highlights him as an example and indicative of the practices of the post-9/11 security-industrial complex, which has managed to pass out clearances like speeding tickets at the Indy 500.
Much like the metadata farming itself and the concept of determining what is "secret" and what isn't, it's a completely counter-intuitive approach.

Edward Snowden didn't need any high-tech gadgetry to make off with the NSA's surveillance secrets—all it took was a humble thumb drive

At my previous employer, you could be fired for bringing those in to work.  They were verboten, and the fire wall would shut your ass down the moment you plugged it in anyway.  You needed special permission to use one, and the thumb drive needed to be scrubbed by DOIT before you could use it, since they're packed with malware.

[Valmy]

It's not personal attacks, it merely highlights him as an example and indicative of the practices of the post-9/11 security-industrial complex, which has managed to pass out clearances like speeding tickets at the Indy 500.
Much like the metadata farming itself and the concept of determining what is "secret" and what isn't, it's a completely counter-intuitive approach.

Well so long as he is being used as a source of reform of the system that is fine.  But having this be some sort of referendum on Snowden is ridiculous, it is not about him personally.  He could be a perfect angel or Satan it doesn't matter, what matters is how these programs are run, who they are accountable to, and whether or not programs like this are even constitutional.

[Valmy]

(Newser) – Edward Snowden didn't need any high-tech gadgetry to make off with the NSA's surveillance secrets—all it took was a humble thumb drive, reports the Los Angeles Times. Authorities have determined that the former contractor used the portable device to smuggle out his classified data, and they "know how many documents he downloaded and what server he took them from," a source tells the newspaper.

What they still don't know is why Snowden had access to such high-level documents, including an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and another from President Obama on setting up cybertargets. Why would the NSA allow employees to have thumb drives around classified stuff? Well, the LAT explains that the devices are supposed to be banned, but enforcement sounds a little loosey-goosey. "There are people who need to use a thumb drive and they have special permission," says one former NSA official. "But when you use one, people always look at you funny."

That was actually one of the things Snowden was whistleblowing about, that the secrets were basically just there for anybody to use and abuse with easy access.

[Brazen]

Didn't Bradley Manning use music CD's labelled "Lady Gaga"? That's enough to get through most security.