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07-03-2013, 04:19 AM
When President Barack Obama last week called intelligence leaker Edward Snowden a "hacker," the comment was designed to be dismissive. But the president also put his finger on a growing fear among national-security officials: that others in the ranks of young, tech-savvy new recruits could prove as unpredictable as they are indispensable.
Faced with accelerating technological advances over the past decade, and pressed to outsource vital government services, U.S. spy agencies are reaching ever further outside the traditional government hierarchy for expertise. That approach likely led them to Mr. Snowden, a community-college dropout whose sophisticated computer skills trumped his lack of formal education, a situation that has become increasingly common in hiring within the National Security Agency, officials there confirm. The 30-year-old's work as an NSA infrastructure analyst gave him the ultimate insider's access to national secrets.
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Associated Press
Former National Security Agency official Thomas Drake leaves court in Baltimore in June 2011 with one of his attorneys. Mr. Drake had been indicted on a charge of willful retention of national defense information but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in a plea deal.
"We have developed this hacker concept, so we want the people that will be the best at breaking into a network," said Dickie George, who served as the NSA's technical director of information assurance, responsible for recruiting those who have proven technical skills, before retiring in 2011. The NSA, he said, "will take a chance on somebody who has the skills we need," even a person without a college degree or government experience.
Former NSA official-turned-leaker Thomas Drake said in an interview that Mr. Snowden is part of a generation, born into the Internet age and beginning their careers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, who don't bow to traditional pressure to keep quiet. The NSA bureaucracy "is doing flips over this," Mr. Drake said. Mr. Drake was indicted on a charge of willful retention of national defense information in 2010, on allegations that he passed classified information to a reporter. The charges were dropped after Mr. Drake pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count for exceeding authorized use of a computer.
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Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is another who chose to make his concerns public rather than go through official channels. Pfc. Manning was charged with leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, the antisecrecy group that says it is helping Mr. Snowden's quest for a haven after the U.S. revoked his passport. Pfc. Manning has pleaded guilty to lesser charges but is contesting the most serious allegations against him, including charges that the leak amounted to aiding the enemy.
Some experts questioned the future of intelligence security in light of recent events.
"To me, the broader issue is bigger than Manning's case—are we going to see a rash of security leaks from young security analysts?" said Cindy Williams, the principal research scientist in the Security Studies Program at MIT.
Mr. Snowden has been stranded in an airport transit lounge in Moscow since June 23. Russia confirmed Tuesday that he withdrew his asylum request. In all, Mr. Snowden has submitted asylum applications to 21 nations; 19 of them on Monday. Most are believed to have rejected his request.
Over Mr. Snowden's time on the run, the intrigue surrounding him has begun to obscure his original goal: drawing U.S. attention to NSA surveillance programs that could ensnare U.S. citizens. On Friday, Mr. Snowden's father, Lonnie Snowden, condemned his son's association with WikiLeaks.
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NSA/Reuters
Dickie George, who recruited people to work at the NSA, said the agency 'will take a chance on somebody who has the skills we need.'
Jonathan Mills, the father of Mr. Snowden's longtime girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, said in an interview that Mr. Snowden "had a strong sense of right and wrong" and didn't talk about his work. "I never thought he'd do anything this crazy," he said.
Members of Congress have criticized Mr. Snowden for his decision to go to the media with his revelations, rather than to government-oversight panels charged with monitoring the secret programs he revealed—the course that people concerned about intelligence-agency actions traditionally take.
A spokesman for the Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed Mr. Snowden didn't bring his concerns to that panel.
Mr. Snowden has said he went public with two secret NSA programs after "seeing a continuing litany of lies from senior officials to Congress—and therefore the American people—and the realization that Congress…wholly supported the lies."
Edward Snowden, the former U.S. government contractor holed up in the transit zone of Moscow’s airport, has had slow responses to his requests to more than 20 countries for asylum. Bruce Orwall looks at the possibilities for Mr. Snowden.
Whistleblower groups and lawyers who have represented people who disclosed classified information are calling for Mr. Snowden and the U.S. to enter into negotiations over his return, before other secrets he may be carrying wind up in foreign hands.
"I hardly think you can make a great claim for an open transparent government when you're hopscotching from one totalitarian government to another," said Dean Zerbe, a former congressional investigator who regularly fielded whistleblower complaints.Mr. Snowden fled to Hong Kong before jumping to Moscow.
"I worked in Congress for 18 years and we were more than happy to get those phone calls—but it's not as sexy or exciting, of course, as going on TV," said Mr. Zerbe, a Washington-based managing director for Alliantgroup LP, a tax consulting firm.
"It's a no-win for both sides," said Stephen Kohn, who heads the nonprofit National Whistleblowers Center in Washington. By threatening Mr. Snowden with espionage charges, "the U.S. has elevated him to an international cause célèbre, and risks that all the information he has will be released because he has nothing to lose," Mr. Kohn said. "But each time he moves to a further extreme position he undermines his status as a whistleblower."
A provision in the 2012 defense authorization act specifically excluded national security-related employees and contractors from legal protection for whistleblowing.
"He has no statutory or regulatory right to blow the whistle internally, and there's no safe channel," says Mr. Kohn. "So what do you think is going to happen?"
-t
Faced with accelerating technological advances over the past decade, and pressed to outsource vital government services, U.S. spy agencies are reaching ever further outside the traditional government hierarchy for expertise. That approach likely led them to Mr. Snowden, a community-college dropout whose sophisticated computer skills trumped his lack of formal education, a situation that has become increasingly common in hiring within the National Security Agency, officials there confirm. The 30-year-old's work as an NSA infrastructure analyst gave him the ultimate insider's access to national secrets.
Enlarge Image
image
image
Associated Press
Former National Security Agency official Thomas Drake leaves court in Baltimore in June 2011 with one of his attorneys. Mr. Drake had been indicted on a charge of willful retention of national defense information but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in a plea deal.
"We have developed this hacker concept, so we want the people that will be the best at breaking into a network," said Dickie George, who served as the NSA's technical director of information assurance, responsible for recruiting those who have proven technical skills, before retiring in 2011. The NSA, he said, "will take a chance on somebody who has the skills we need," even a person without a college degree or government experience.
Former NSA official-turned-leaker Thomas Drake said in an interview that Mr. Snowden is part of a generation, born into the Internet age and beginning their careers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, who don't bow to traditional pressure to keep quiet. The NSA bureaucracy "is doing flips over this," Mr. Drake said. Mr. Drake was indicted on a charge of willful retention of national defense information in 2010, on allegations that he passed classified information to a reporter. The charges were dropped after Mr. Drake pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count for exceeding authorized use of a computer.
Related Reading
Snowden's Asylum Effort Hits Roadblocks
At a Glance: Country-by-Country Look at Edward Snowden's Asylum Requests
Bolivia President's Plane Blocked
France Presses U.S. on Privacy
Country-by-Country Look at Requests
Read Snowden's Asylum Request to Poland
Echoes of Echelon in NSA Spying
Putin Cool on Snowden Asylum Bid
Europe Raises Heat on U.S. Over Spying
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is another who chose to make his concerns public rather than go through official channels. Pfc. Manning was charged with leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, the antisecrecy group that says it is helping Mr. Snowden's quest for a haven after the U.S. revoked his passport. Pfc. Manning has pleaded guilty to lesser charges but is contesting the most serious allegations against him, including charges that the leak amounted to aiding the enemy.
Some experts questioned the future of intelligence security in light of recent events.
"To me, the broader issue is bigger than Manning's case—are we going to see a rash of security leaks from young security analysts?" said Cindy Williams, the principal research scientist in the Security Studies Program at MIT.
Mr. Snowden has been stranded in an airport transit lounge in Moscow since June 23. Russia confirmed Tuesday that he withdrew his asylum request. In all, Mr. Snowden has submitted asylum applications to 21 nations; 19 of them on Monday. Most are believed to have rejected his request.
Over Mr. Snowden's time on the run, the intrigue surrounding him has begun to obscure his original goal: drawing U.S. attention to NSA surveillance programs that could ensnare U.S. citizens. On Friday, Mr. Snowden's father, Lonnie Snowden, condemned his son's association with WikiLeaks.
Enlarge Image
image
image
NSA/Reuters
Dickie George, who recruited people to work at the NSA, said the agency 'will take a chance on somebody who has the skills we need.'
Jonathan Mills, the father of Mr. Snowden's longtime girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, said in an interview that Mr. Snowden "had a strong sense of right and wrong" and didn't talk about his work. "I never thought he'd do anything this crazy," he said.
Members of Congress have criticized Mr. Snowden for his decision to go to the media with his revelations, rather than to government-oversight panels charged with monitoring the secret programs he revealed—the course that people concerned about intelligence-agency actions traditionally take.
A spokesman for the Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed Mr. Snowden didn't bring his concerns to that panel.
Mr. Snowden has said he went public with two secret NSA programs after "seeing a continuing litany of lies from senior officials to Congress—and therefore the American people—and the realization that Congress…wholly supported the lies."
Edward Snowden, the former U.S. government contractor holed up in the transit zone of Moscow’s airport, has had slow responses to his requests to more than 20 countries for asylum. Bruce Orwall looks at the possibilities for Mr. Snowden.
Whistleblower groups and lawyers who have represented people who disclosed classified information are calling for Mr. Snowden and the U.S. to enter into negotiations over his return, before other secrets he may be carrying wind up in foreign hands.
"I hardly think you can make a great claim for an open transparent government when you're hopscotching from one totalitarian government to another," said Dean Zerbe, a former congressional investigator who regularly fielded whistleblower complaints.Mr. Snowden fled to Hong Kong before jumping to Moscow.
"I worked in Congress for 18 years and we were more than happy to get those phone calls—but it's not as sexy or exciting, of course, as going on TV," said Mr. Zerbe, a Washington-based managing director for Alliantgroup LP, a tax consulting firm.
"It's a no-win for both sides," said Stephen Kohn, who heads the nonprofit National Whistleblowers Center in Washington. By threatening Mr. Snowden with espionage charges, "the U.S. has elevated him to an international cause célèbre, and risks that all the information he has will be released because he has nothing to lose," Mr. Kohn said. "But each time he moves to a further extreme position he undermines his status as a whistleblower."
A provision in the 2012 defense authorization act specifically excluded national security-related employees and contractors from legal protection for whistleblowing.
"He has no statutory or regulatory right to blow the whistle internally, and there's no safe channel," says Mr. Kohn. "So what do you think is going to happen?"
-t