Edward Snowden’s New Role: Product Pitchman

Edward Snowden talks during a simulcast conversation during the SXSW Interactive Festival on Monday, March 10, 2014, in Austin, Texas. Snowden talked with American Civil Liberties Unions principal technologist Christopher Soghoian, and answered tweeted questions. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP) | Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP

Edward Snowden has been given many titles: Whistleblower. Traitor. Asylum-seeker.

Now, the fugitive National Security Agency contractor appears to have found a new role: Product pitchman.

In recent interviews and speeches at tech conferences, where he appeared remotely via Google Hangout, Snowden has endorsed several privacy and security tools -- whether the product's makers wanted his help or not.

Last week, Snowden told The Guardian that consumers should avoid the cloud storage service Dropbox, which he said was "hostile to privacy," and instead use a lesser-known competitor, SpiderOak, because it makes it harder for law enforcement to obtain stored content.

At the South by Southwest conference in March, Snowden recommended that people use Tor, a software that allows people to use the Internet anonymously. He also touted the encryption service Pretty Good Privacy, or PGP, and Open WhisperSystems, a project that built an app for encrypting text messages.

In a crowded market where security companies often claim their products are NSA-proof, an endorsement from Snowden can be a boon to a lesser-known startup, giving it added credibility and free publicity. But some companies have learned that being good enough for Snowden can also bring unwanted scrutiny.

Snowden is currently living in temporary asylum in Russia while facing theft and espionage charges in the United States for disclosing details of the NSA surveillance program to media outlets.

Theres no sign he has been paid for his recent product plugs, but some say Snowden could find a lucrative new career by positioning himself as a trusted privacy expert who makes money touting tech products. Snowden also hinted last week at a technology conference that he may start developing privacy tools himself.

At some point he's going to have to make a living, said John Pescatore, director of emerging security trends at the SANS Institute, a cybersecurity training organization. That is probably whats really going on here.

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Edward Snowden's New Role: Product Pitchman