The Edward Snowden Affair

by Michael Gurnow

  Saturday, July 27 E “Spies of the digital age”*

  Wednesday, July 31 G “XKeyscore: NSA tool collects ‘ nearly everything a user does on the internet’”*

  While in Post-Asylum Russia

  Thursday, August 1 G “NSA pays £100m in secret funding for GCHQ”

  Thursday, August 1 G “GCHQ: inside the top secret world of Britain’s biggest spy agency”

  Thursday, August 1 NGB “Intelligence services use company” broadcast

  Friday, August 2 SZ “Snowden revealed names of spying telecom companies”

  Friday, August 2 E “Letter from the American Ambassador in Brazil thanks the NSA for its Support”*

  Monday, August 5 DS “Mass Data: Transfers from Germany Aid US Surveillance”*

  Friday, August 9 G “NSA loophole allows warrantless search for US citizens’ emails and phone calls”*

  Monday, August 12 DS “Ally and Target: US Intelligence Watches Germany Closely”

  Thursday, August 15 WP “NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds”*

  Tuesday, August 20 WSJ “New Details Show Broader NSA Surveillance Reach”

  Thursday, August 22 G “NSA paid millions to cover Prism compliance costs for tech companies”*

  Monday, August 26 DS “Codename ‘Apalachee’: How America Spies on Europe and the UN”*

  Wednesday, August 28 SZ/NGB “British Officials Have Far-Reaching Access to Internet and Telephone Communications”

  Thursday, August 29 A “Australian spies in global deal to tap undersea cables”*

  Thursday, August 29 WP “NSA paying U.S. companies for access to communications networks”*

  Thursday, August 29 WP “U.S. spy network’s successes, failures and objectives detailed in ‘black budget’ summary”

  Thursday, August 29 WP “To hunt Osama bin Laden, satellites watched over Abbottabad, Pakistan, and Navy SEALs”

  Friday, August 30 WP “U.S. spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show”

  Saturday, August 31 DS “NSA Spied on Al Jazeera Communications”

  Sunday, September 1 WP “U.S. intelligence agencies spend millions to hunt for insider threats, document shows”

  Sunday, September 1 DS “NSA Targeted French Foreign Ministry”

  Sunday, September 1 F 11-minute television report with previously unpublished classified documentation concerning the NSA’s spying on Brazil and Mexico’s presidents*

  Monday, September 2 WP “Top-secret U.S. intelligence files show new levels of distrust of Pakistan”

  Tuesday, September 3 WP “U.S. documents detail al-Qaeda’s efforts to fight back against drones”

  Thursday, September 5 G “Revealed: how US and UK spy agencies defeat internet privacy and security”*

  Thursday, September 5 NYT/PP “N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web/ Revealed: The NSA’s Secret Campaign to Crack, Undermine Internet Security”*

  Sunday, September 8 F 13-minute television report with previously unpublished classified documentation concerning the NSA’s surveillance of Petrobras*

  Monday, September 9 DS “iSpy: How the NSA Accesses Smartphone Data”

  Sources

  CHAPTER 1

  1 Greenwald, Glenn. “Edward Snowden: NSA whistleblower answers reader questions.” The Guardian. June 17, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/17/edward-snowden-nsa-files-whistleblower.

  2 Lewis, Paul and Karen McVeigh. “Edward Snowden: what we know about the source behind the NSA files leak.” The Guardian. June 10, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/11/edward-snowden-what-we-know-nsa.

  3 Bykowicz, Julie and Greg Giroux. “NSA Leaker Was Shy, Computer-Bound Teenager in Maryland.” Bloomberg. June 11, 2013. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-11/nsa-leaker-was-shy-computer-bound-teenager-in-maryland.html.

  4 Hallow, Ralph. “Edward Snowden’s father suggests son’s leaks may be protected by Constitution.” The Washington Times. July 1, 2013. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/1/father-fugitive/?page=all.

  5 Toppo, Greg. “Former neighbor remembers Snowden as ‘nice kid.’” USA Today. June 10, 2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/10/snowden-neighbors-surveillance-security/2408573/.

  6 BBC News – US & Canada. “Profile: Edward Snowden.” BBC News. Aug. 7, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22837100.

  7 Markon, Jerry. “Effort to get NSA leaker Edward Snowden’s father to Moscow collapses.” The Washington Post. July 30, 2013. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-07-30/politics/40895930_1_elder-snowden-washington-post-lon-snowden.

  8 Shiffman, John and Daniel Trotta. “Patriot or traitor, Snowden driven by fear of government intrusion.” Reuters. June 11, 2013. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/11/usa-security-snowden-idUSL2N0EN03V20130611.

  9 Fox News Insider. “Snowden’s Dad Speaks Out! Preview Eric Bolling’s Exclusive Interview.” Fox News Insider. June 17, 2013. http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/06/17/lonnie-snowden-father-edward-snowden-gives-interview-fox-news-eric-bolling-about-medias.

  10 Ars Technica Forum. “State School vs. Expensive College.” Ars Technica. Apr. 30, 2006. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=310452&p=6791072&hilit=I+don%E2%80%99t+have+a+degree+of+ANY+type.+I+don%E2%80%99t+even+have+a+high+school+diploma#p6791072.

  11 Geller, Adam and Brian Witte. “Edward Snowden’s Background Surrounded By Spycraft.” The Huffington Post. June 15, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/15/edward-snowden-background_n_3446904.html.

  12 Leonnig, Carol, Jenna Johnson and Marc Fisher. “Tracking Edward Snowden, from a Maryland classroom to a Hong Kong hotel.” The Washington Post. June 15, 2013. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-06-15/world/39988583_1_anime-hong-kong-world.

  13 Cass, Connie, and Kimberly Dozier. “NSA leaker mysterious despite hours of interviews.” Salon. June 13, 2013. http://www.salon.com/2013/06/13/nsa_leaker_mysterious_despite_hours_of_interviews_2/.

  14 Cf. 1.5

  15 Cf. 1.5

  16 Ars Technica Forum. “Seducing one’s girlfriend.” Ars Technica. Nov. 7, 2006. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=247159&p=5856884&hilit=girl#p5856884.

  17 Cf. 1.5

  18 Itkowitz, Colby and Daniel Patrick Sheehan. “FBI visits family of NSA leaker in Upper Macungie.” The Morning Call. June 10, 2013. http://articles.mcall.com/2013-06-10/news/mc-pa-ed-snowden-nsa-leak-20130610_1_fbi-agents-upper-macungie-township-public-records.

  19 Broder, John and Scott Shane. “For Snowden, a Life of Ambition, Despite the Drifting.” The New York Times. June 15, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/us/for-snowden-a-life-of-ambition-despite-the-drifting.html?hp&pagewanted=all.

  20 Cf. 1.7

  21 Mosk, Matthew, et al. “Edward Snowden’s Life As We Know It.” ABC News. June 13, 2013. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/timeline-edward-snowdens-life/story?id=19394487.

  22 Meek, James, et al. “U.S. Fears Edward Snowden May Defect to China: Sources.” Yahoo. June 13, 2013. http://news.yahoo.com/u-fears-edward-snowden-may-173428026.html.

  23 Muller, Sarah. “Snowden ‘thinks long and hard before coming to a decision,’ friend says.” MSNBC. Oct. 2, 2013. http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/06/12/edward-snowden-is-an-it-genius-says-a-friend/.

  24 Shiffman, John, et al. “While working for spies, Snowden was secretly prolific online.” The Chicago Tribune. June 13, 2013. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-13/news/sns-rt-us-usa-security-snowden-onlinebre95d023-20130613_1_nsa-corporate-greed-postings.

  25 Internet archive. Snowden’s Ryuhana Profile. Archive. Dec. 16, 2013. http://archive.is/Gv7sT.

  26 Bump, Philip. “Ed Snowden’s ‘Sexxxxy’ 18-Year-Old Self Has Surfaced & He Wasn’t a Serious Spy.” The Wire. June 12, 2013. http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/06/snowden-teenage-photos/66180/.

  27 Cooke, Kristina and John Shiffman. “Snowden as a teen online: anime and cheeky humor.” The Chicago Tribune. June 12,
2013. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-12/news/sns-rt-us-usa-security-snowden-animebre95b14b-20130612_1_anime-teen-online-cia.

  28 Cooke, Kristina and John Shiffman. “Edward Snowden As A Teen Online.” The Huffington Post. June 12, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/12/exclusive-snowden-as-a-te_n_3430166.html.

  29 Cf. 1.27

  30 Cf. 1.28

  31 Cf. 1.10

  32 Mullin, Joe. “NSA leaker Ed Snowden’s life on Ars Technica.” Ars Technica. June 12, 2013. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/06/nsa-leaker-ed-snowdens-life-on-ars-technica/.

  33 Ars Technica Forum. “Clicking power supply on my xbox 360.” Ars Technica. May 19, 2006. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=306199&p=6726096&hilit=the+sound+of+freedom#p6726096.

  34 Ars Technica Forum. “In-depth theory (sic) questions: How proxies WORK. (Difficulty: Guru).” Ars Technica. Oct. 14, 2003. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=618700&p=11737503&hilit=traffic+such+as+SMTP+as+opposed+to+the+standard#p11737503.

  35 Greenwald, Glenn, et al. “Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations.” The Guardian. June 9, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance.

  36 Poitras, Laura and Glenn Greenwald. “Edward Snowden: ‘The US government will say I aided our enemies’ – video interview.” The Guardian. July 8, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jul/08/edward-snowden-video-interview.

  37 Ars Technica Forum. “Bush Regime Playing Cards… Awesome.” Ars Technica. Sept. 25, 2013. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=626955&p=11886089&hilit=They+can%E2%80%99t+even+come+up+with+decent#p11886089.

  38 Ars Technica Forum. “How much time do you spend gaming per day?” Ars Technica. Oct. 26, 2013. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=615139&p=11679190&hilit=eight+hours+a+day+surfing#p11679190.

  39 Ackerman, Spencer. “Edward Snowden did enlist for special forces, US army confirms.” The Guardian. June 10, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/10/edward-snowden-army-special-forces.

  40 Cf. 1.22

  41 Cf. 1.19

  42 Ars Technica Forum. “Does Religion Limit Humanity?” Ars Technica. Dec. 8, 2003. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=636292&p=12040667&hilit=agnostic#p12040667.

  43 Marbella, Jean, et al. “Details about Edward Snowden’s life in Maryland emerge.” The Baltimore Sun. June 10, 2013. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-06-10/news/bs-md-snowden-profile-20130610_1_anne-arundel-county-arundel-high-the-guardian/2.

  44 Cf. 1.39

  45 Cf. 1.21

  46 Cf. 1.21

  47 The Washington Post. “A timeline of Edward Snowden’s life.” The Washington Post. June 16, 2013. http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/politics/a-timeline-of-edward-snowdens-life/235/.

  48 Finn, Peter, et al. “Probe aims to find how NSA leaker got access.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 11, 2013. http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/probe-aims-to-find-how-nsa-leaker-got-access-691177/.

  49 Ars Technica Forum. “are you living the life you wish?” Ars Technica. Apr. 14, 2006. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=315325&p=6876937&hilit=making+twice+the+average+income#p6876937.

  50 Cf. 1.10

  51 Ars Technica Forum. “Tell me about…A career in the military (or overseas)!” Ars Technica. Aug. 14, 2006. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=280566&p=6352598&hilit=I+was+unemployed+for+a+full+year+%26+then#p6352598.

  52 Fein, Bruce. “Letter To Obama: Civil Disobedience, Edward J. Snowden, and the Constitution.” Popular Resistance. July 26, 2013. http://www.popularresistance.org/letter-to-obama-civil-disobedience-edward-j-snowden-and-the-constitution/.

  53 Post TV. “Snowden’s father: Edward ‘the brilliant one.’” The Washington Post. July 30, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/video/thefold/snowdens-father-edward-the-brilliant-one/2013/07/30/091e3642-f964-11e2-8e84-c56731a202fb_video.html.

  54 Cf. 1.23

  55 Ars Technica Forum. “Living in towns - how is it possible?” Ars Technica. Dec. 14, 2006. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=292779&p=6536986&hilit=some+time+in+Ireland+in+February#p6536986.

  56 Shane, Scott. “Under Snowden Screen Name, 2009 Post Berated Leaks.” The New York Times. June 26, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/world/under-snowdens-screen-name-a-declaration-in-09-that-leakers-should-be-shot.html?pagewanted=all.

  57 Poitras, Laura and Glenn Greenwald. “NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: ‘I don’t want to live in a society that does these sort of things.’” The Guardian. June 9, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-interview-video.

  58 Cf. 1.11

  59 Ferran, Lee. “Snowden’s CIA Drunk Driving Claim Questioned.” ABC News. June 12, 2013. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/06/switzerland-questions-u-s-over-cia-drunk-driving-gambit/.

  60 Drew, Christopher and Scott Shane. “Résumé Shows Snowden Honed Hacking Skills.” The New York Times. July 4, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/us/resume-shows-snowden-honed-hacking-skills.html?pagewanted=all.

  61 Anderson, Mavanee. “Who is Ed Snowden? Friend shares memories, offers support for NSA leaker.” Times Free Press. June 12, 2013. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/jun/12/who-is-ed-snowden/?print.

  62 Cf. 1.35

  63 Allen, Matthew. “US security snooping scandal unnerves Swiss.” Swiss Info. June 10, 2013. http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/US_security_snooping_scandal_unnerves_Swiss.html?cid=36112760.

  64 Treaties.un.org. “Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.” Treaties.un.org. Dec. 16, 2013. http://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1964/06/19640624%2002-10%20AM/Ch_III_3p.pdf.

  65 Reuters. “Swiss president would back criminal probe against NSA leaker.” Reuters. June 16, 2013. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/06/16/usa-security-switzerland-snowden-idUKL5N0ES0DX20130616.

  66 Reuters. “Switzerland’s oldest bank Wegelin to close after pleading guilty to aiding US tax evasion.” Reuters. Jan. 4, 2013. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/9779615/Switzerlands-oldest-bank-Wegelin-to-close-after-pleading-guilty-to-aiding-US-tax-evasion.html.

  67 Cf. 1.4

  68 Ars Technica. Ars Technica Member Profile. Ars Technica. Dec. 29, 2001. http://arstechnica.com/civis/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=60591.

  69 Ars Technica Forum. “Perpetual market watch and securities trading thread.” Ars Technica. Oct. 27, 2008. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=36965&p=1091085&hilit=Holy+jesus%2C+have+you+guys+started+using+the+new+triple+levered#p1091085.

  70 Cf. 1.69

  71 Ars Technica Forum. “NEW PREDICTION. Dow 4000-4500.” Ars Technica. June 30, 2008. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92725&p=2624123#p2624123.

  72 Cf. 1.60

  73 Greenwald, Glenn. “Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey.” The Guardian. July 16, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/16/gordon-humphrey-email-edward-snowden.

  74 Ambinder, Marc. “Inside the Secret Interrogation Facility at Bagram.” The Atlantic. May 14, 2010. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/05/inside-the-secret-interrogation-facility-at-bagram/56678/.

  75 Cf. 1.35

  76 Cf. 1.61

  77 Ars Technica Forum. “Secure Systems: Launching a virtual machine from a LiveCD (or, ‘Help Educate Me’).” Ars Technica. Feb. 14, 2009. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=64259&p=1862943&hilit=The+goal+here+is+to+be+able+to+bring+a#p1862943.

  78 Schmitt, Eric. “C.I.A. Warning on Snowden in ’09 Said to Slip Through the Cracks.” The New York Times. Oct. 10, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/us/cia-warning-on-snowden-in-09-said-to-slip-through-the-cracks.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&.

  79 Schmitt, Eric. “C.I.A. Disputes Early Suspicions on Snowden.” The New York Times. Oct. 11, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/12/us/cia-disputes-earl
y-suspicions-on-snowden.html?ref=todayspaper.

  80 Cf. 1.79

  81 Hosenball, Mark. “Snowden downloaded NSA secrets while working for Dell, sources say.” Reuters. Aug. 15, 2013. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/15/usa-security-snowden-dell-idUSL2N0GF11220130815.

  82 Ars Technica Forum. “Has anybody considered working as IT security in Japan?” Ars Technica. Feb. 18, 2002. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=868906&p=16121410&hilit=japanese#p16121410.

  83 Cf. 1.22

  84 Witte, Brian. “Dad of Snowden’s girlfriend ‘shocked’ by news.” The Big Story. June 12, 2013. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/dad-snowdens-girlfriend-shocked-news.

  85 Mills, Lindsay. Personal website. L’s Journey. Dec. 16, 2013. http://www.lsjourney.com/.

  86 Little, John. “Lindsay Mills: Reportedly the Blogging, Instagraming, Pinteresting, Flickering, YouTubing and Tweeting Girlfriend of Edward Snowden.” Blogs of War. June 11, 2013. http://blogsofwar.com/2013/06/11/lindsay-mills-the-blogging-instagraming-pintresting-flickering-youtubing-and-tweeting-girlfriend-of-edward-snowden/.

  87 Weiss, Sasha. “We Are All Pole Dancing on the Internet.” The New Yorker. June 13, 2013. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/06/snowden-girlfriend-lindsay-mills-blog.html.

  88 CNN. “NSA leaker’s girlfriend says she’s ‘lost at sea.’” CNN. June 12, 2013. http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/11/us/nsa-snowden-girlfriend/.

  89 La Ganga, Maria. “Lindsay Mills and other pole dancers missing in action.” Los Angeles Times. June 13, 2013. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/13/news/la-pn-lindsay-mills-missing-in-action-20130613.

  90 Ngak, Chenda. “NSA leaker’s girlfriend struggles with privacy in digital age.” CBS News. June 13, 2013. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57589265/nsa-leakers-girlfriend-struggles-with-privacy-in-digital-age/.

  91 Cf. 1.60

  92 Sniderman, Zachary. “‘Anonymous’ Now Fighting Child Pornography.” Mashable. Oct. 24, 2011. http://mashable.com/2011/10/24/anonymous-child-pornography/.

  93 Yin, Sara. “‘Anonymous’ Attacks Sony in Support of PS3 Hackers.” PC Mag. Apr. 4, 2011. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383018,00.asp.