Where #39;s Ed? Stockholm web summit slammed as Snowden, Greenwald #39;blacklisted #39;
Blacklisting Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, hacker Jacob Appelbaum and others by the Stockholm Internet Forum (SIF) on internet freedom provoked strong criticism from participants and outrage...

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Where's Ed? Stockholm web summit slammed as Snowden, Greenwald 'blacklisted' - Video

NSA Intercepts Internet Devices, Implants "Backdoor" - Leaked Document
Journalist Glenn Greenwald discusses a new revelation from the leaked NSA documents made public by Edward Snowden that the United States NSA intercepts internet devices and implants a "backdoor,"...

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NSA Intercepts Internet Devices, Implants "Backdoor" - Leaked Document - Video

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NBC News just published some telling quotes from its much anticipated interview with Edward Snowden. Among other self-aggrandizing things, Snowden said he "was trained as a spy"and is "a technical expert." Snowden added, "I don't work with people." Update: video below.

Based on what we know about the NSA whistleblower, these are not false statements. However, he certainly doesn't waste the opportunity to talk himself up. While administration officials often referred to Snowden as a "low-level systems administrator," Snowden himself says this is "misleading" and that he's "developed sources and methods for keeping our information and people secure in the most hostile and dangerous environments around the world."

This isn't the first time Snowden has touted himself in a public forum. Just before Christmas of last year, the former government contractor did a victory lap of sorts in an interview with The Washington Post. "For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission's already accomplished," he said. "I already won." It's a victory, though, that has left him in exile.

And so the great debate continues: Did the intelligence community train him as a spy only to have him turn around and spy on the intelligence community? Did his massive leak bolster the cause of greater transparency in the government, or did he make folks like the NSA retreat into even greater secrecy? Is he a hero, a patriot? (President Obama certainly doesn't think so.)

So many questions. Hopefully, Brian Williams' full interview with Snowdenwhich airs on Wednesday night at 10pmwill provide some answers.

Update: NBC posted two video teasers from the full interview.

Continued here:
Edward Snowden Claims He Was a Spy in Interview (Update ...

In the interview, taped last week and to air in full on Wednesday, Snowden defended himself against claims minimizing his intelligence experience before he stole and leaked a trove of classified documents revealing the NSA's program of phone and Internet surveillance.

"I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word in that I lived and worked undercover overseas - pretending to work in a job that I'm not - and even being assigned a name that was not mine," he said.

He said he had worked covertly as "a technical expert" for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, as well as as a trainer for the Defense Intelligence Agency.

"I don't work with people. I don't recruit agents. What I do is I put systems to work for the United States. And I've done that at all levels from - from the bottom on the ground all the way to the top," he said.

"So when they say I'm a low-level systems administrator, that I don't know what I'm talking about, I'd say it's somewhat misleading."

Snowden, who left high school at 15 without graduating, made his revelations three months into his new job with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton as a systems administrator based at the NSA's threat operations center in Hawaii.

Following the leaks, he proceeded to Hong Kong unaccompanied, where he checked into a hotel without a plan.

On June 23 he headed to Moscow, two days after his 30th birthday, where he holed up in the Sheremetyevo Airport for days before he was eventually granted asylum.

Snowden was "profoundly at peace" with his decision to leak national security documents, and even joked about the consequences, journalist Glenn Greenwald said.

Meanwhile the US House of Representatives passed landmark reforms Thursday curbing bulk collection of Americans' telephone records, the first step toward restricting intelligence-gathering by the NSA since Snowden divulged the secret program.

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Edward Snowden: I was a spy 'at all levels'

By Dana Ford, CNN

May 28, 2014 -- Updated 0702 GMT (1502 HKT)

In this file photo Edward Snowden speaks during an interview in Hong Kong in June 2013.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A low-level systems administrator? Or a highly trained spy?

Edward Snowden sought to bolster his credentials during an interview with NBC "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams.

The one-hour interview, Snowden's first with a U.S. television network, is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

An excerpt aired Tuesday night.

"I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word -- in that I lived and worked undercover, overseas, pretending to work in a job that I'm not -- and even being assigned a name that was not mine," Snowden said.

"Now, the government might deny these things. They might frame it in certain ways, and say, oh, well, you know, he's a low-level analyst.

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Edward Snowden says he was 'trained as a spy'

Edward Snowden, in an exclusive interview with "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams, is fighting back against critics who dismissed him as a low-level hacker saying he was trained as a spy and offered technical expertise to high levels of government.

Snowden defended his expertise in portions of the interview that aired at 6:30 p.m. ET on Nightly News. The extended, wide-ranging interview with Williams, his first with a U.S. television network, airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word, in that I lived and worked undercover overseas pretending to work in a job that Im not and even being assigned a name that was not mine, Snowden said in the interview.

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Snowden described himself as a technical expert who has worked for the United States at high levels, including as a lecturer in a counterintelligence academy for the Defense Intelligence Agency and undercover work for the CIA and National Security Agency.

But I am a technical specialist. I am a technical expert, he said. I dont work with people. I dont recruit agents. What I do is I put systems to work for the United States. And Ive done that at all levels from from the bottom on the ground all the way to the top.

Last year, when Snowden began leaking details of NSA spying programs and left the country, administration officials played down his work history, using descriptions such as systems administrator to describe his role at the agency. In June, President Barack Obama himself told reporters: No, Im not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.

Snowden told Williams that those terms were misleading.

In the Defense Intelligence Agency job, Snowden said, he developed sources and methods for keeping our information and people secure in the most hostile and dangerous environments around the world.

So when they say Im a low-level systems administrator, that I dont know what Im talking about, Id say its somewhat misleading, he said.

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EXCLUSIVE: Edward Snowden Tells Brian Williams: 'I Was Trained as a Spy'

In his first ever interview with a U.S. TV network, the NSA whistlebower said many of the terms used to describe him were 'misleading' Snowden said, he 'developed sources and methods for keeping our information and people secure in the most hostile environments' A one-hour interview with NBC will air on Wednesday night Nightly News anchor Brian Williams travelled to Moscow to meet him

By David Mccormack

Published: 21:50 EST, 27 May 2014 | Updated: 01:40 EST, 28 May 2014

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NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has hit back at claims made by the Obama administration that he was merely a low-level hacker and has claimed that he worked undercover for both the CIA and the National Security Agency.

I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word, in that I lived and worked undercover overseas - pretending to work in a job that I'm not - and even being assigned a name that was not mine, he told NBC News in his first interview with a U.S. TV network.

Snowden, who was granted temporary asylum in Russia after revealing details of U.S. spying activities to journalists, portrayed himself as a technical specialist... a technical expert.

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Edward Snowden 'trained as a spy' and rejects claims he was a low-level hacker

Edward Snowden, in an exclusive interview with "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams, is fighting back against critics who dismissed him as a low-level hacker saying he was trained as a spy and offered technical expertise to high levels of government.

Snowden defended his expertise in portions of the interview that aired at 6:30 p.m. ET on Nightly News. The extended, wide-ranging interview with Williams, his first with a U.S. television network, airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word, in that I lived and worked undercover overseas pretending to work in a job that Im not and even being assigned a name that was not mine, Snowden said in the interview.

It has come to our attention that the browser you are using is either not running javascript or out of date. Please enable javascript and/or update your browser if possible.

Snowden described himself as a technical expert who has worked for the United States at high levels, including as a lecturer in a counterintelligence academy for the Defense Intelligence Agency and undercover work for the CIA and National Security Agency.

But I am a technical specialist. I am a technical expert, he said. I dont work with people. I dont recruit agents. What I do is I put systems to work for the United States. And Ive done that at all levels from from the bottom on the ground all the way to the top.

Last year, when Snowden began leaking details of NSA spying programs and left the country, administration officials played down his work history, using descriptions such as systems administrator to describe his role at the agency. In June, President Barack Obama himself told reporters: No, Im not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.

Snowden told Williams that those terms were misleading.

In the Defense Intelligence Agency job, Snowden said, he developed sources and methods for keeping our information and people secure in the most hostile and dangerous environments around the world.

So when they say Im a low-level systems administrator, that I dont know what Im talking about, Id say its somewhat misleading, he said.

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EXCLUSIVE: Edward Snowden Rejects Obama Administration Claim He Was Low-Level Hacker

Behind the mask: Edward Snowden's revelations forced the issue of court authorisation for surveillance into the open. Photo: Reuters

United States intelligence leaker Edward Snowden said in a TV interview he "was trained as a spy" and had worked undercover overseas for US government agencies.

In an advance excerpt of his interview in Moscow with NBC Nightly Newsthat aired on Tuesday in the US, Snowden rejected comments by critics that he was a low-level analyst.

Snowden worked for Dellas a contractor to the US National Security Agency (NSA) from 2009 to earlier this year, then as acontractor for management consultancy firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

Previous reports have him working as for the CIAas a security guard from age 19 and as an undercover operator in overseas posts at 23.

"Well, it's no secret that the US tends to get more and better intelligence out of computers nowadays than they do out of people," Snowden told NBC news anchor Brian Williams.

"I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word in that I lived and worked undercover overseas - pretending to work in a job that I'm not - and even being assigned a name that was not mine."

Describing himself as a "technical expert", Snowden said: "I don't work with people. I don't recruit agents. What I do is I put systems to work for the United States. And I've done that at all levels from - from the bottom on the ground all the way to the top."

He said he worked undercover overseas for both the CIA and NSA and lectured at the Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy "where I developed sources and methods for keeping our information and people secure in the most hostile and dangerous environments around the world."

"So when they (critics) say I'm a low-level systems administrator, that I don't know what I'm talking about, I'd say it's somewhat misleading," Snowden added.

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Edward Snowden: 'I was trained as a spy'

May 28, 2014

US fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden (pic) "trained as a spy" and worked "undercover overseas" for intelligence agencies, he told NBC News in excerpts of an interview aired yesterday.

In his first interview in US media, Snowden hit back at claims that he was merely a low-level contractor, saying he worked "at all levels from from the bottom on the ground, all the way to the top."

Snowden, who has been charged in the United States with espionage, was granted asylum by Russia in August 2013 after shaking the American intelligence establishment to its core with a series of leaks on mass surveillance in the United States and around the world.

In the interview, taped last week and to air in full today, Snowden defended himself against claims minimizing his intelligence experience before he stole and leaked a trove of classified documents revealing the NSA's program of phone and Internet surveillance.

"I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word in that I lived and worked undercover overseas pretending to work in a job that I'm not and even being assigned a name that was not mine," he said.

He said he had worked covertly as "a technical expert" for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, as well as as a trainer for the Defence Intelligence Agency.

"I don't work with people. I don't recruit agents. What I do is I put systems to work for the United States. And I've done that at all levels from from the bottom on the ground all the way to the top," he said.

"So when they say I'm a low-level systems administrator, that I don't know what I'm talking about, I'd say it's somewhat misleading."

Snowden, who left high school at 15 without graduating, made his revelations three months into his new job with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton as a systems administrator based at the NSA's threat operations center in Hawaii.

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