Category Archives: Edward Snowden

Snowden leaks prompt firms to focus cyber security on insider threats

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At this weeks Def Con hacker gathering in Las Vegas, Tess Schrodinger sounded almost annoyed.

The whole insider-threat phenomenon, they act like its this new thing, the cyber security expert told the crowd.

Schrodinger then spent an hour ticking off a long string of insider threats long before Edward Snowden's famous leaks, from Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up Britain's House of Lords, to Brian Patrick Regan, an American Air Force sergeant convicted of trying to sell secrets to Saddam Hussein.

Suddenly we have to worry about this, Schrodinger told the Def Con crowd, even citing Judas to make her case. If you know your history, insider threat has been an issue before the beginning of time.

But even if insider threats can be traced back to the biblical era, the recent focus on them has had an impact on the business of cybersecurity. Pre-Snowden, much of the attention was devoted to protecting against cybercriminals and foreign hackers. Now companies are increasingly protecting themselves from their own employees. Cracking down too hard can stifle workplace creativity, but potentially losing millions from a single breach of intellectual property can be even more worrisome.

After private companies witnessed the damage a contractor in Hawaii could inflict on the nation's largest spy agency, theyre lining up to avoid a similar fate. And firms that specialize in protecting corporate data say thats been a boon.

Verizons 2014 threat report, which chronicles breaches in the last year, noted an uptick in internal espionage incidents, not because more necessarily occurred but because an emphasis on insider-focused security resulted in more getting detected.

The Snowden news, the report said, illustrates the risk that exists when an organization must place trust in individuals...Most insider misuse occurs within the boundaries of trust necessary to perform normal duties. Thats what makes it so difficult to prevent.

Even the former second-in-command at the National Security Agency has benefited.

Chris Inglis, who helps corporations guard against threats as an advisor for data security firm Securonix, said in an interview with The Times that the Snowden leaks have been good for business.

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Snowden leaks prompt firms to focus cyber security on insider threats

Russia gives Snowden 3-year residency – CNN.com

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By Joe Sterling, CNN

updated 8:10 AM EDT, Thu August 7, 2014

Edward Snowden gets three more years of residency in Russia.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Edward Snowden, who leaked secret information about U.S. spying programs, has been granted an extension to stay in Russia for three more years, his attorney said in a televised press conference in Moscow Thursday.

Snowden recently formally requested that Russia's government extend his temporary asylum, and Snowden attorney Anatoly Kucherena said the request had been accepted.

"As of August 1, 2014, Snowden has received residency for three years," Kucherena told reporters Thursday.

Snowden's temporary asylum in Russia ended on July 31. He'd been holed up at a Moscow airport for five weeks before the Russian government granted asylum for one year on August 1, 2013.

Snowden has kept busy working for a Russian website and speaking out on the disclosures about the U.S. government's spying programs and processes that he helped make public.

Snowden's disclosures in 2013 made him an icon among those who praised him for risking his future to expose these secrets and a villain among those who accused him of being a lawbreaker who betrayed the United States.

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Russia gives Snowden 3-year residency - CNN.com

Russia grants Edward Snowden residency for three more …

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Russia has granted former NSA contractor Edward Snowden an extension to stay in the country for three more years. (Reuters)

MOSCOW Russia has granted fugitive National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden permission to remain in the country for three more years, Snowdens attorney said Thursday, a measure that promised to further strain U.S.-Russian relations.

The decision gives the former NSA contractor the option to remain in Russia through August 2017 and, potentially, to take up Russian citizenship should he extend his stay for one year beyond that, lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told reporters.

The decision last year to grant asylum to Snowden for a year was a major factor in the souring of U.S.-Russian relations, which have deteriorated to Cold War lows over the conflict in Ukraine. The decision to extend Snowdens stay, although not a surprise, represents another political dig by the Kremlin at the Obama administration, which made Snowdens return to U.S. territory a high priority.

The announcement came on the day that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would ban all meat, produce and milk imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway for a year.

Starting August 1, 2014, Edward Snowden has received a residence permit for a three-year term, Kucherena said. He said his client has not been granted official political asylum, which would allow him to stay in Russia permanently and must be decided through a separate process. Kucherena said Snowden has not decided whether to try to remain in Russia permanently.

Last year, Snowden released thousands of files about the inner workings of U.S. intelligence agencies to journalists, including those at The Washington Post and Britains Guardian newspaper. The subsequent articles created an uproar about the reach and extent of U.S. government surveillance both at home and abroad and led to a review by the Obama administration of intelligence agencies surveillance powers.

As a result of the leaks, Snowden faces U.S. charges of espionage and theft of government property, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Kucherena painted a picture of a somewhat lonely life for Snowden, who is working to learn Russian and rarely gives interviews.

He has to think about his security. He has a very modest life, Kucherena said. But Snowden is very free to move around, goes shopping, and visits museums and theaters, he said.

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Russia grants Edward Snowden residency for three more ...

Edward Snowden granted permission to stay in Russia for 3 …

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Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden will be allowed to stay in Russia for three more years, his lawyer said.

"The decision on the application has been taken and therefore starting Aug. 1, 2014, Edward Snowden has received a three-year residential permit," attorney Analtoly Kucherena said on Thursday.

But, Kucherena clarified, the whistleblower has not been granted political asylum, which would allow him to stay in the country permanently. That status must be secured through a different procedure but Kucherena did not say whether his client was seeking it.

Last year, Snowden was stranded in a Moscow airport while traveling from Hong Kong to Cuba. He reportedly spent a month in the airport before he was granted asylum in Russia for one year.

His current whereabouts have not been made public.

Kucherena's announcement comes at a time of increased tension between the United States and Russia. Also on Thursday, Russia banned most food imports from the West in retaliation to sanctions over the countrys actions and suspected actions in Ukraine.

The U.S. and EU accuse Russia of supplying arms to pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine and Russia annexed the war-torn country's Crimean Peninsula in March.

In June 2013, revelations about the NSAs spying programs first published in The Washington Post and The Guardian sparked an international debate over state surveillance and privacy. Snowden had handed over thousands of classified documents to journalist Barton Gellman, journalist Glenn Greenwald and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras.

Ever since, he has lived a life in exile.

"I don't think there's ever been any question that I'd like to go home,"Snowden told Brian Williams of NBC News in May. From Day 1, Ive said, Im doing this to serve my country. Now, whether amnesty or clemency ever becomes a possibility is not for me to say. That's a debate for the public and the government to decide. But, if I could go anywhere in the world, that place would be home."

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Edward Snowden Gets Permission To Stay In Russia For 3 …

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MOSCOW (AP) Former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the U.S. for leaking details about once-secret surveillance programs, has been granted permission to stay in Russia for three more years, his lawyer said Thursday.

Snowden last year was granted temporary asylum of one year in Russia, but that expired on Aug. 1.

His lawyer, Analtoly Kucherena, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Snowden now has been granted residency for three more years, but that he had not been granted political asylum.

That status, which would allow him to stay in Russia permanently, must be decided by a separate procedure, Kucherena said, without specifying if Snowden is seeking it. He faces espionage charges in the U.S. that carry a sentence of up to 30 years, but Russia has no extradition treaty with Washington.

Snowden was stranded in a Moscow airport last year en route from Hong Kong to Cuba, shortly after he released extensive documentation about National Security Agency's surveillance programs. He reportedly spent a month in the airport before receiving the temporary asylum, but was seen only at one tightly restricted meeting with human rights representatives.

Since receiving the temporary asylum, his whereabouts have not been made public.

The case has been a significant contributor to the tensions between Russia and the U.S.

"I don't think there's ever been any question that I'd like to go home," Snowden said in a television interview in May. "Now, whether amnesty or clemency ever becomes a possibility is not for me to say. That's a debate for the public and the government to decide. But, if I could go anywhere in the world, that place would be home."

Kucherena said Snowden is working in the information-technology field and that holding a job was a key consideration in extending his residency. The lawyer didn't give details of where Snowden is working. He also said Snowden is under the protection of a private guard service.

Kucherena also was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that he intends to publish a novel that includes elements of the Snowden case. He claimed rights to the book have been sold to American film director Oliver Stone.

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Edward Snowden Gets Permission To Stay In Russia For 3 ...

Russia grants Edward Snowden residency for three more years

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Russia has granted former NSA contractor Edward Snowden an extension to stay in the country for three more years. (Reuters)

MOSCOW Russia has granted fugitive National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden permission to remain in the country for three more years, Snowdens attorney said Thursday, a measure that promised to further strain U.S.-Russian relations.

The decision gives the former NSA contractor the option to remain in Russia through August 2017 and, potentially, to take up Russian citizenship should he extend his stay for one year beyond that, lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told reporters.

The decision last year to grant asylum to Snowden for a year was a major factor in the souring of U.S.-Russian relations, which have deteriorated to Cold War lows over the conflict in Ukraine. The decision to extend Snowdens stay, although not a surprise, represents another political dig by the Kremlin at the Obama administration, which made Snowdens return to U.S. territory a high priority.

The announcement came on the day that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would ban all meat, produce and milk imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway for a year.

Starting August 1, 2014, Edward Snowden has received a residence permit for a three-year term, Kucherena said. He said his client has not been granted official political asylum, which would allow him to stay in Russia permanently and must be decided through a separate process. Kucherena said Snowden has not decided whether to try to remain in Russia permanently.

Last year, Snowden released thousands of files about the inner workings of U.S. intelligence agencies to journalists, including those at The Washington Post and Britains Guardian newspaper. The subsequent articles created an uproar about the reach and extent of U.S. government surveillance both at home and abroad and led to a review by the Obama administration of intelligence agencies surveillance powers.

As a result of the leaks, Snowden faces U.S. charges of espionage and theft of government property, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Kucherena painted a picture of a somewhat lonely life for Snowden, who is working to learn Russian and rarely gives interviews.

He has to think about his security. He has a very modest life, Kucherena said. But Snowden is very free to move around, goes shopping, and visits museums and theaters, he said.

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Russia grants Edward Snowden residency for three more years