In 2013, the name of Edward Snowden did not leave the headlines and sounded on the TV news. CIA technician, NSA special agent caught American services in violation of civil rights and freedoms of people around the world.
Childhood and youth
The future special agent was born in 1983 in Elizabeth City. The head of the family served in the North Carolina Coast Guard, the mother devoted herself to jurisprudence. Soon the couple divorced, Edward and sister Jessica stayed with their mother. The boy spent his childhood at home, where he graduated from high school.
In 1999, the family moved to Maryland. The young man became a college student, studied computer science, was preparing to enter the university in preparatory courses. But poor health prevented him from completing his education in a timely manner, the young man was absent from classes for several months. Education continued remotely via the Internet until 2011, after which Edward received his master's degree from the University of Liverpool.
In 2004, Snowden served in the US Armed Forces. He dreamed of getting to Iraq and "helping people free themselves from oppression." During the exercise, the recruit broke both legs and was demobilized.
Work in the special services
A new stage in Snowden's biography was work in the national security agencies of the state. The young man's career began with guarding a facility at the University of Maryland. He received the highest level of security clearance not only for classified information, but also for intelligence information. He was then transferred to the NSA base in Hawaii as a system administrator.
A further place of service for Edward was the CIA, where he was engaged in information security issues. For two years in Geneva, under diplomatic cover, he provided computer security. During this period, Snowden experienced great disappointment in the activities of the domestic special services, he was especially amazed at the ways in which employees recruited and received the necessary information. Since 2009, Snowden began cooperation with consulting companies that worked in conjunction with the NSA, among them were military contractors.
Disclosure of information
What he saw in Switzerland freed Snowden from illusions and made him think about the benefits of such government actions. Subsequent activities only confirmed his determination and the need to move to active action. He hoped that the arrival of President Barack Obama in the White House would improve the situation, but it only got worse.
Snowden began to act decisively in 2013, when he sent an anonymous message to director and film producer Laura Poitras. The letter contained information that the author has important information. The next decisive step was encrypted communication with the Englishman Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian and the author of articles for the Washington Post, Barton Gellman. According to available information, Snowden gave them nearly two hundred thousand files classified as "top secret." In late spring, these two publicists began to receive materials from Edward on the PRISM program, created by American intelligence. The essence of the state program was to secretly collect information about citizens around the world. Every year, the system intercepted one and a half billion telephone conversations and emails, and also recorded the movements of billions of people who owned mobile phones. According to the head of information intelligence, the system worked on a completely legal basis, which allowed monitoring the network traffic of users of some Internet resources. Any US citizen could potentially be “under the hood,” foreigners were of particular interest. The system made it possible to view mail, photos, listen to video chats and voice messages, and also draw details of personal life from social networks.
Exposure
The National Security Service has launched an investigation into the leak in the press of information about the PRISM system. After the disclosure, many companies, in particular Googl, began checking information encryption systems in order to prevent further leakage of information about their users. Previously, this Internet company, like many others, encrypted data only in transit, and it was stored unsecured on servers. The American organization of human rights defenders has filed several lawsuits with the judicial authorities to declare illegal such data collection. Soon there was a reaction from the European Union that measures to protect information were also planned there.
The technician has released information on the surveillance of a billion people in dozens of countries. His list included large Internet and cellular companies that collaborated with the special services on a daily basis. Edward justified his actions by advocating openness and respect for the legitimate interests of society.
The NSA director accused Snowden of gaining possession of information not only concerning US intelligence, but also of Great Britain. And the Pentagon said that it possesses information about many military covert operations. There was a version that Snowden technically could not carry out such an operation alone, there were words about the possible support from the Russian intelligence. However, there was no evidence of this, and Edward denied assistance from other states. The accused himself understood perfectly well that he would have to "suffer for his actions." He sacrificed a quiet life in Hawaii to oppose the violation of people's freedoms through total surveillance. He did not consider the act heroic and did not put money at the head of everything: "I do not want to live in a world where there is no secret of private life."
Escape abroad
Almost immediately, Snowden left the country and flew to Hong Kong, where he continued to communicate with reporters. Two weeks later, the police showed up at his home in Hawaii. The Washington Post and the Guardian immediately published the materials they received exposing the PRISM system. In Hong Kong, together with journalists, he recorded an interview on video, and openly declared himself. Further, Edward planned to leave for Iceland, believing that the country supports freedom of speech best of all, staying in Hong Kong remained dangerous. Russian diplomats invited him to move to Russia. The country's leadership agreed to grant a three-year residence permit, subject to the cessation of their subversive work.
Personal life
In view of the security measures taken, the personal life of the whistleblower remains secret to a wide audience. Before his name became known to the whole world, Edward lived on one of the Hawaiian islands with Lindsay Mills. There is a version that the couple's civil marriage continues and they live together in a rented apartment in Moscow.
Snowden is fond of Asian culture, in particular Japanese. Anime and martial arts interested him while working at one of the US military bases in Japan. Then the computer specialist began to study the language of the Land of the Rising Sun.
How does he live today
At home, Snowden was put on the international wanted list and accused in absentia of espionage and embezzlement of state property. Today its exact location is unknown. Russia has extended the right to stay on its territory until 2020 for the disgraced agent. The CIA director is confident that Snowden is obliged to bear responsibility before the American court, but he does not make contact with American diplomacy. The security specialist is ready to return to America if he was sure that the proceedings would be open to the general public.
The famous whistleblower does not live a closed life. His face can often be seen at various conferences on human rights and computer technology. Many countries invite him to give lectures or attend music and culture festivals. For such video communication, Snowden receives good fees, today their size is close to his earnings in America. But Edward himself does not get tired of repeating that life in Russia is expensive, and since, leaving his homeland, he did not take anything with him, he has to earn money himself. Even without knowing the language, over the years Snowden has visited many parts of Russia, but he still spends most of his time on the global network.
The controversial figure of the techie piqued the interest of the game developers of which he became a hero. British journalist Greenwald dedicated the book "Nowhere to Hide" to him, and in 2016 American director Oliver Stone presented a film about the life of an agent.
