NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Had A Revelation That Authorities Rushed To Conceal
After giving journalists access to stacks of top-secret documents, the formerly-unknown government employee Edward Snowden instantly became one of the world’s most wanted criminals. After all, he had exposed shocking details that the public was never supposed to know about, including the extent to which the US government was spying on its citizens. However, aside from this stunning revelation, there was another secret buried in those documents — a grim conspiracy that people had speculated about for years. And now, for better or worse, we finally know the truth.
'Infiltrating' the CIA
Gaining access to extremely classified information required Snowden to be incredibly well connected — and for a while, at least, he was. In May of 2013 he worked for the CIA, and also had experience at the NSA’s operations center in Hawaii. This organization specialized in keeping top-secret tabs on North Korea and China. The controversial figure has described himself as an “infrastructure analyst,” claiming that he spent his time searching for innovative methods of hacking into phone and internet traffic. But was there more to the story?
Deciding to break his silence
In 2019, Snowden spoke to NPR’s Fresh Air host Terry Gross about what had led him to become a whistleblower. On the show, he revealed that this moment had come after he had been conducting research into the ways in which China was apparently infiltrating U.S. intelligence. The computer expert also said that he had been disturbed by the extent and brazenness of Chinese espionage.
Big brother is always watching
Snowden told NPR that he was “shocked by the extent of [China’s] capabilities. [He was] appalled by the aggression with which they use them. But also, in a strange way, surprised by the openness with which they use them.” The whistleblower continued, “They’re not hiding it. They’re just open and out there, saying, ‘Yeah, we’re doing this. Yeah, we’re hacking you. What are you going to do about it?’” Soon, a chilling thought occurred to him.
'We wouldn't do that'
Snowden’s realization about China’s spying efforts led him to wonder what his own government may be doing. He explained, “I think, yes, the NSA is spying — of course they’re spying — but we’re only [doing it] overseas. We’re not spying on our guys at home. We wouldn’t do that.” It’s a comforting lie to tell ourselves, but as Snowden would soon find out, every government has skeletons in its closet.