Edward Snowden Should Talk About Cyberwar More Often

We're all sick of used to hearing Edward Snowden talk about NSA surveillance by now. We get it: The government's watching us, and there's basically nothing we can do about it. But PBS just published the transcript of an interview with Snowden that doesn't really talk about surveillance much at all. It's all about cyberwar, and it's fascinating.

In the midst of comprehending Snowden-as-celebrity-whistleblower, it's easy to forget that he's actually a very experienced cybersecurity expert. This young man spent years on the frontlines of America's silent but fierce battle to protect our internet infrastructure. But as Snowden points out in his interview with James Bamford from PBS's tech show NOVA Next, agencies like the NSA actually devote more resources towards launching cyberattacks. In other words, the folks that should be focused on defending our nation in an imminent cyberwar are too busy focusing on the offense.

Though the interview was filmed last June, PBS just released the unedited transcript and a brief video. The transcript is very long but full of goodies, if you're curious about how cybersecurity actually works at the national defense level. After the Sony hack, we all know that it's a glaringly important topic. But Snowden actually does a great job of breaking the nuances of cyberwar down into some easily digestible nuggets.

We don't get to hear Edward Snowden talk about aspects of cybersecurity beyond being a spyhe should do it more often. [PBS]

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Edward Snowden Should Talk About Cyberwar More Often