Edward Snowden – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edward Snowden Born Edward Joseph Snowden (1983-06-21) June 21, 1983 (age30) Elizabeth City, North Carolina, United States Residence Russia (temporary asylum) Nationality American Occupation System administrator Employer Booz Allen Hamilton[1] Kunia, Hawaii, US (until June 10, 2013) Knownfor Revealing details of classified United States government surveillance programs Home town Wilmington, North Carolina Criminal charge Theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified intelligence to an unauthorized person (June 2013). Awards Sam Adams Award[2] Signature

Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American computer specialist, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, and former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who disclosed classified NSA documents to several media outlets, initiating the NSA leaks, which reveal operational details of a global surveillance apparatus run by the NSA, its Five Eyes partners, and numerous commercial and international partners.[3]

Snowden's release of classified material was called the most significant leak in US history by Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg. A series of exposs beginning June 5, 2013 revealed Internet surveillance programs such as PRISM, XKeyscore and Tempora, as well as the interception of US and European telephone metadata. The reports were based on documents Snowden leaked to The Guardian and The Washington Post while employed by NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. By November 2013, The Guardian had published one percent of the documents, with "the worst yet to come".

A subject of controversy, Snowden has been variously called a hero,[4][5][6] a whistleblower,[7][8][9][10] a dissident,[11] a traitor,[12][13] and a patriot.[14][15] According to Snowden, his "sole motive" for leaking the documents was "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."[16] The disclosures have fueled debates over mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national security and information privacy.[17] Seven months after the NSA revelations began, Snowden declared his mission accomplished, citing the international debate sparked by his leaks.

A federal judge in December 2013 ruled that the government had "almost certainly" violated the US Constitution by collecting metadata on nearly every phone call within or to the United States. Ten days later, a different federal judge ruled the surveillance program was legal, raising the likelihood that the constitutionality of the program would ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.[18]

Snowden is considered a fugitive by American authorities who have charged him with espionage and theft of government property.[19][20] He is currently living in Russia under temporary asylum.

Edward Joseph Snowden was born on June 21, 1983,[21] in Elizabeth City, North Carolina[22] and grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina.[23] His father, Lonnie Snowden, a resident of Pennsylvania, was an officer in the United States Coast Guard,[24] and his mother, a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, is a clerk at the United States District Court in Maryland.[23][25] His parents are divorced, and his father has remarried.[26] Friends and neighbors described Snowden as shy, quiet and nice. One longtime friend said that he was always articulate, even as a child.[25] Speaking in an interview, Snowden's father described his son as "a sensitive, caring young man", and "a deep thinker".[27]

By 1999, Snowden had moved with his family to Ellicott City, Maryland.[23] He studied at Anne Arundel Community College[23] to gain the credits necessary to obtain a high-school diploma but he did not complete the coursework.[28][29] Snowden's father explained that his son had missed several months of school owing to illness and, rather than return, took and passed the tests for his GED at a local community college.[16][27][30]

Snowden worked online toward a Master's Degree at the University of Liverpool in 2011.[31] Having worked at a US military base in Japan, Snowden was reportedly interested in Japanese popular culture, had studied the Japanese language,[32] and also worked for an anime company domiciled in the US.[33][34] He also said he had a basic understanding of Mandarin Chinese and was deeply interested in martial arts and, at age 19 or 20, listed Buddhism as his religion on a military recruitment form, noting that the choice of agnostic was "strangely absent".[35] Snowden told The Washington Post that he was an ascetic, rarely left the house and had few needs.[36]

Before leaving for Hong Kong, Snowden resided in Waipahu, Hawaii, with his girlfriend.[37] According to local real estate agents, they moved out of their home on May 1, 2013.[29]

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Edward Snowden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia