Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden (爱德华·斯诺登) is an American former technical contractor and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee who worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), before leaking details of classified NSA mass surveillance programs PRISM to the press. Snowden said his disclosure of PRISM related to NSA data capture efforts was an effort "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."
Family
Edward Snowden grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. His father was an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and his mother a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. He has one older sister, who is an attorney.
Before leaving for Hong Kong, Snowden resided in Oahu, Hawaii, with his girlfriend, a former pole dancer who now works for an acrobatic troupe.
It's not believed that his girlfriend has had any part in or knowledge of his plans to leak the NSA details, but the agency still paid her a visit in light of his disappearance.
During an online Q&A with The Guardian newspaper on June 17, 2013, Snowden said he would like for everyone to stop talking about his girlfriend and concentrate on the "largest program of suspicion-less surveillance in human history."
That same day, in an interview with Fox News, Snowden's father urged him to return home and not to leak any more information.
Education
By 1999, Snowden had moved to Maryland with his family, where he studied computing at a community college. He failed to complete the coursework.
He later obtained a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, a test which proves the taker has the required American or Canadian high school-level educational skills.
In 2011, he worked towards an online master's degree in computing security from the University of Liverpool.
Snowden reportedly also studied the Japanese language and has a basic understanding of Mandarin. He has previously listed Buddhism as his religion.
Career
On May 7, 2004, Snowden enlisted in the U.S. Army, but was discharged four months later because he broke both of his legs in a training accident.
He subsequently served as a NSA security guard at the Center for Advanced Study of Language at the University of Maryland before joining the CIA to work in IT security.
In August 2006, Snowden referred to himself on an online forum as a "computer wizard." Three months later, he wrote on that same forum that he might get a job in government service, perhaps involving China, but said it didn't seem like it would as much "fun as some of the other places."
In 2007, Snowden was working for the CIA under diplomatic cover in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was responsible for maintaining computer network security.
In 2009, Snowden left the CIA for a private contractor inside an NSA facility on a Japanese U.S. military base.
Before leaving the U.S. in May 2013, he had been working as a system administrator for less than three months for Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm, inside the NSA in Hawaii.
PRISM surveillance disclosures
In June 2013, journalists from The Guardian and The Washington Post claimed they had been working with Snowden since February and May that same year, respectively, with Snowden using encrypted emails to communicate with them. Snowden has requested them not to quote him at length for fear of identification through semantic analysis.
In May 2013, Snowden was permitted temporary leave from his position at the NSA in Hawaii, under the false pretense of epilepsy treatment. He moved out of his home and left nothing behind.
On May 20, 2013, Snowden flew to Hong Kong and stayed in a hotel in the Tsim Sha Tsui area. When he checked out of the hotel four days later, he had in fact "signed in under his own name, using his own credit cards" despite his knowledge of surveillance techniques.
On June 6, 2013, the PRISM project was revealed by the Guardian and the Washington Post. Three days later, Snowden's identity was made public by The Guardian at his own request.
On June 17, 2013, in during a Q&A with The Guardian, Snowden denied speculations that he had acted as a spy for the Chinese government.
Snowden has vowed to challenge any extradition attempt by the U.S. government. He has reportedly approached several human rights lawyers.
On July 1, 2013, Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Snowden has asked for political asylum in Russia. On July 2, WikiLeaks has applied asylum in another 19 countries for the U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, WikiLeaks said in a statement on its website. The countries include Russia, India, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela and China.
On July 5, 2013, both Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said, in separate speeches from their respective countries, that their governments would be willing to grant Snowden “humanitarian asylum.” On July 6, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced his country will offer humanitarian asylum for Snowden if asked.
Edward Snowden has been holed up at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport since June 23, when he arrived from Hong Kong.
