Glenn Greenwald’s Pulse-Pounding Tale of Breaking the Snowden Leaks

Edward Snowden photographed in Moscow, Russia December, 2013. Photo: Barton Gellman/Getty Images

In June 2013, Edward Snowden was sitting in his room at the Mira hotel in Hong Kong, watching the world react to the first of his explosive leaks about the NSAs out-of-control surveillance, when he was tipped off that the NSA might be closing in on him.

Snowdens identity as the source of the documents was still unknown to the public. But through a net-connected device he installed at his now-abandoned home in Hawaii to watch out for the watchers presumably an IP surveillance camera with microphone he knew when two people from the NSA showed up at the house looking for him, an NSA police officer and someone from human resources.

This is one of the new details revealed in No Place to Hide, the much-anticipated book by journalist Glenn Greenwald, who worked with Snowden and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras to publish a number of blockbuster stories about the NSA.

Snowden had known it would only be a matter of time before the NSA was on his trail he had intentionally left electronic footprints behind that would help the agency identify him as the leaker.

Though he could have covered his tracks the NSAs internal security was so poor the agency failed to catch him downloading thousands of documents over many weeks he hadnt wanted his colleagues to be subjected to needless suspicion or false accusations during the inevitable investigation that would follow the leaks. Snowden in fact intended to reveal his identity with the first story that was published, but Greenwald convinced him to wait so that the publics initial reactions would be focused on the NSA leaks and not the leaker.

The book, which is being released today, provides an extensive look at Greenwalds earliest encounters online and in person with the mysterious whistleblower who for months would only identify himself as Cincinnatus. It also expands on existing reporting about the agencys spy operations through the publication of more than 50 previously unpublished documents.

Although there may be little in the documents thats startling to anyone who has carefully followed the leak revelations over the last year, the book does a good job of providing an overview of what the documents and stories have revealed until now, while adding fresh detail. [One complaint with the book, however, is the lack of an index. Greenwald has said he plans to publish it online today, but this won't likely satisfy readers with print copies who don't want to jump on their computer or phone each time they want to find something in the book.]

Among the fresh details he reports the NSA routinely intercepts networking devices such as routers, servers, and switches as theyre in transit from U.S. sellers to international customers and plants digital bugging devices in them, before repackaging them with a factory seal and sending them on their way. Although its been previously reported that the NSA, CIA and FBI intercept laptops to install spyware, the tampering with network hardware would potentially affect more users and data.

He also reports that U.S. telecoms partnering with foreign telecoms to upgrade their networks help subvert foreign networks for the spy agency.

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Glenn Greenwald’s Pulse-Pounding Tale of Breaking the Snowden Leaks