How Edward Snowden stole his cache of NSA secrets

The Week ^ | 6/14/13 | Peter Weber

[null and void]

You get the job in spite of the personality if you have a skill in short enough supply. As someone once told Dr. Gregory House, 'you must be really good at what you do, or else no one would let a person like you work for them'.

Sounds like they may have interviewed one person who just didn't like the guy or something.

Well, when the goal is to impugn the leaker, he's going to be reported as a total clymer no matter who they interview, or what they had to say.

[Strategerist]

how does one get a security clearance that high with a background that includes an extremely abrasive personality like described in this article. Generally, the first indication you are a hard-headed know it all gets your consideration red stamped forever

If abrasive, hard-headed knowitalls couldn't get security clearances then we'd neither have a military or any new military technology.

How many US World War II generals and admirals would get their clearances denied under your criteria (or if you also denied them to anyone weird or eccentric in any way)? How many technology innovators would also have their clearances denied? Kelly Johnson? No U-2 and no SR-71 Blackbird, then.

[Strategerist]

The FBI and NSA agents looking for him should have noted him on a flight out of Hawaii real quick. If he flew direct to HK then it should have been even easier. I’m surprised that NSA does not have a alert when any employee is traveling outside the US. I know people who have worked such jobs and they all had to notify their agency that they were planning a trip outside the US.

The obvious answer is that he didn't notify the agency or BAH he was planning a trip outside the US, and the FBI and NSA didn't start looking for him until after he'd already arrived in Hong Kong.

Our whole no-fly and watch list technology is based on stopping people from getting IN, not stopping people from getting OUT.

Actually that applies to all security - I've been in a lot of secure facilities, and I've had stuff searched on the way in, but I've never, ever been searched leaving (despite warnings that this happens sometimes.)

[hoosierham]

I bet less than 1 in 1000 here know what you are talking about.But the were neat tools for road rallies.

[FunkyZero]

Well, I mentioned that based on past experience.

although I've never been screened or applied for work that required it, I know 3 people who have their clearance and went through it. I was interviewed once for each of them when they were being investigated. they ask all manner of questions about personality so I figured that was a large factor, they specifically asked questions about whether or not the personal was strong willed and/or argumentative. They also ask a lot of uncomfortable questions about sexual promiscuity and odd behaviors. I only hope I never have to be screened.... God only knows what those knucklehead moron buddies of mine would say about me when I was younger

[itsahoot]

- that's why they are so pi$$ed about him "destroying National Security".

He revealed no secrets, the only people that didn’t know this were the Low Information Voters, our enemies and our friends already know we spy on them.

[itsahoot]

Remember 5 1/4 inch floppies? The floppies at work I used were 8 inchers!

You guys never heard of punch cards? Of course my first machine used a tape recorder. :)

Bradley Manning, accomplished the Biggest exposure of Official Secrets in American History, using a DVD.

[itsahoot]

Google Pics is cool

[hoosierham]

Do you know who imported the Curta back in the early 1960s ?

Hint: initial are W. G. and he was known for something else.

[Hot Tabasco]

Theft by thumb drive.

Here we go again, more disinformation from the wannabe pullitzer winners.

A report I read said three laptops filled with info.........

Sounds like Boston Marathon all over again..............

[Cyber Liberty]

What’s a “Trator?”

:^)

[JoeProBono]

A traitor does not does not pass the smell test.

[null and void]

The first casualty of war is the truth.

Exactly who the US government is at war with is an exercise left to the reader.

[itsahoot]

Do you know who imported the Curta back in the early 1960s ?

Nope, I was curious what the thing was and googled up a picture. Being curious I would like to know though.

[Cyber Liberty]

Oh. I thought it was a traitor that failed the “i” test....

[Jane Long]

He could’ve Sandy Bergler’d them.

[JoeFromSidney]

Back in the days of floppy disks and before thumb drives, I'd occasionally give briefings at the National Aerospace Intelligence Center. The rule there was, you could bring in a floppy, but it stayed. You couldn't take it out again.

This past week I gave a briefing at a defense contractor near Washington. They were really strict. I had to email my PowerPoint to them. Not only no thumb drives allowed in, no cell phones or cameras either. The only electronics I could bring in were my hearing aids. They're concerned not only about secrets going out, but about viruses coming in. I was glad to see that tight security, even though it was a nuisance.

[null and void]

Thank you. That was good to hear.

[libstripper]

They were also neat desktop calculators. I got mine to do the math associated with trust and estate legal work, such as tax returns and final accounts. Then, a year later, the first electronic desktop calculators came out at the same price, rendering my Curta an instant museum piece. Figuring that, in the not too distant future, it would be worth many times the $170.00 I’d paid for it, I put it and the instructions in the original box and saved them in a safe place. Now it’s worth about $1,400.