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- Oct 15, 2014
- Updated: 9:00pm
News›Hong Kong
Snowden sought Booz Allen job to gather evidence on NSA surveillance
Fugitive whistle-blower reveals for first time he took job at US government contractor with the sole aim of collecting proof of spying activities
PUBLISHED : Monday, 24 June, 2013, 11:00pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 25 June, 2013, 4:49pm
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A banner displayed in support of Edward Snowden in Central. Photo: AFP
Edward Snowden secured a job with a US government contractor for one reason alone - to obtain evidence of Washington's cyberspying networks, the South China Morning Post can reveal.
For the first time, Snowden has admitted he sought a position at Booz Allen Hamilton so he could collect proof about the US National Security Agency's secret surveillance programmes ahead of planned leaks to the media.
"My position with Booz Allen Hamilton granted me access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked," he told the Post on June 12. "That is why I accepted that position about three months ago."
During a live global online chat last week, Snowden also stated he took pay cuts "in the course of pursuing specific work". He said: "Booz was not the most I've been paid."
His admission comes as US officials voiced anger at Hong Kong, and indirectly Beijing, after the whistle-blower was allowed to leave the city on Sunday.
Snowden is understood to be heading for Ecuador to seek political asylum with the help of WikiLeaks, which claimed to have secured his safe passage to the South American country.
Snowden, who arrived in Hong Kong on May 20, first contacted documentary maker Laura Poitras in January, claiming to have information about the intelligence community. But it was several months later before Snowden met Poitras and two British reporters in the city.
He spent the time collecting a cache of classified documents as a computer systems administrator at Booz Allen Hamilton.
In his interview with the Post, Snowden divulged information that he claimed showed hacking by the NSA into computers in Hong Kong and the mainland.
"I did not release them earlier because I don't want to simply dump huge amounts of documents without regard to their content," he said.
"I have to screen everything before releasing it to journalists."
Asked if he specifically went to Booz Allen Hamilton to gather evidence of surveillance, he replied: "Correct on Booz."
The documents he divulged to the Post were obtained at Booz Allen Hamilton in April, he said. He intends to leak more of those documents later.
"If I have time to go through this information, I would like to make it available to journalists in each country to make their own assessment, independent of my bias, as to whether or not the knowledge of US network operations against their people should be published."
Two days after Snowden broke cover in Hong Kong as the source of the NSA leaks, Booz Allen Hamilton sacked him.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Snowden's 'cybermole' admission
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hard times ! Jun 29th 2013
12:41am
12:41am
if Snowden is a criminal as accused by the Obama administration and their Congressmen,then he is certainly a criminal of conscience only.He has got nothing for revealing the top secrets of the cyberspying done by the National Security Agency of America against all netizens around the world. He has got a world fame maybe---the greatest whistle-blower of our age and the man of 2013 and maybe the next winner of the Nobel Prize of Peace if Sweden dares awarding him as she did to the Chinese dissident,Liu Xia-bo who is still jailed.The empty seat at the prize-giving ceremony will be Snowden's if he is still alive and jailed in a single-person cell at a certain place of America ! According to Chinese military, the revelations of this whistle-blower is equal to the loss of 10 heavy-armoured army divsions of America ! Marvellous,Mr.Snowden ! No wonder they have got so furious even to our tiny Hong Kong !
vincent.hanlon.5 Jul 3rd 2013
4:30am
4:30am
There is very good evidence that not too long ago Snowden
would have been the first in line to point the fickle finger of guilt at...
Edward Snowden. Contrary to your comment, the Nobel Prize
winner of whistleblowing, Edward Snowden, does his case not
a bit of good by seeking even temporary respite in a country like Russia.
Golly, the US T-party must really be gnashing their teeth at that one.
How can anyone who was mentally functioning during the Cheney Bush
years be surprised at any of these NSA "revelations" without having
at least a little trouble with expressing fake outrage, which means
being both shocked and appalled and appalled and shocked, unless
they are either paid or volunteer absolutist liars4hire.
would have been the first in line to point the fickle finger of guilt at...
Edward Snowden. Contrary to your comment, the Nobel Prize
winner of whistleblowing, Edward Snowden, does his case not
a bit of good by seeking even temporary respite in a country like Russia.
Golly, the US T-party must really be gnashing their teeth at that one.
How can anyone who was mentally functioning during the Cheney Bush
years be surprised at any of these NSA "revelations" without having
at least a little trouble with expressing fake outrage, which means
being both shocked and appalled and appalled and shocked, unless
they are either paid or volunteer absolutist liars4hire.
nosidam Jun 27th 2013
10:00pm
10:00pm
Sorry to say based upon his security level, what he did was criminal. The opinion that accumulating meta data is a crime needs to be decided by the courts and if this data is not protected by the 4th ammendment then Snowden desires a lighter sentence. Seeking asylum or escape after working workingwith a security clearance is not the proper or even ethical solution. He should stand up and "face the music" in the courts not in a developing or LDC country. By the way, not one article has addrresed how he arrived in Hong Kong. Was it through Japan or the Philippines? As most travelers know there are no non-stops to or from Hawaii anymore. I suggest the government continue spying on the world, yet when there is any trouble or disaster, who steps up and does the right thing thing and utilizes people and resources ? Not China, and not the ancient UK empire.
vivianyee Jun 26th 2013
2:10pm
2:10pm
It's funny how Yanks in the comments are claiming Snowden is a criminal. No he is not. He's simply a messenger. Your government is spying on the whole world for absolutely nothing and that is criminal!
Wodetiana Jun 27th 2013
1:04pm
1:04pm
Actually, I have been reading comments in US online news papers, many USArians support him, it seems he woke them up a bit. Still, there are some die hard pro USA'ers out there that think everything the USA does is right, but they are becoming a minority voice, especially recently.
NotHereEither Jun 26th 2013
5:05am
5:05am
"I did not release them earlier because I don't want to simply dump huge amounts of documents without regard to their content," he said. "I have to screen everything before releasing it to journalists."
Seriously?
Seriously?
charles_knause Jun 25th 2013
9:33pm
9:33pm
The US Sec. of State's comments regarding the state of internet freedom in the PRC, Russia, & Ecquidor are merely a clever mystification of what the whole present crisis in international relations is all about. The word that will never be heard escaping the lips of the billionaire former US senator is the word "imperialism" because that word would properly define the historical period that we now live in.
The facts of international life are such that through the process of constant struggle many of the nations such as China, Russia, & Ecquidor that formerly lived under the iron heel of US and/or Western imperialism have been liberated through the blood, suffering, and toil of their citizens.
The fact that the present governments are in fact now almost completely free and independent states with a foreign policy that is their own is what most bother the US imperialists. The fact of the matter is that Kerry is correct that these said governments are less than perfect. The many threats that they have lived under for over 100 years from the US & Western imperialists has so shaped their reactions to this said threat to their national sovereignty that the imperialists now find that to be a convenient pressure point that they can now exploit..
The issue in this case is national sovereignty and whether the US & the West will live up to its requirements under international law and accept present day facts of life that have assigned the US a smaller role.in world affairs
The facts of international life are such that through the process of constant struggle many of the nations such as China, Russia, & Ecquidor that formerly lived under the iron heel of US and/or Western imperialism have been liberated through the blood, suffering, and toil of their citizens.
The fact that the present governments are in fact now almost completely free and independent states with a foreign policy that is their own is what most bother the US imperialists. The fact of the matter is that Kerry is correct that these said governments are less than perfect. The many threats that they have lived under for over 100 years from the US & Western imperialists has so shaped their reactions to this said threat to their national sovereignty that the imperialists now find that to be a convenient pressure point that they can now exploit..
The issue in this case is national sovereignty and whether the US & the West will live up to its requirements under international law and accept present day facts of life that have assigned the US a smaller role.in world affairs
barkway Jun 25th 2013
7:54pm
7:54pm
So the US government and all its global resources can't find or get their hands on Snowden...but a reporter from the South China Morning Post can?
major.dickason.9 Jun 25th 2013
7:53pm
7:53pm
The Chinese are not friends of USA, Did you expect them to hand over Snowden. They used him and got rid of him. Their rationalization was patently absurd.You can keep HK and China. I will continue to not buy Chinese goods.nor visit your polluted filthy environment
Payback
Payback
tkruemmer Jun 25th 2013
4:07pm
4:07pm
The unbelievable intrusion into privacy of netizens is being justified by the hunt for terrorists. Successful terrorists use letters and messengers, not the internet or mobile phones, as we have painfully learned.
Resulting paranoia turns every disgruntled mid-puberty student posting violent thought online into a dangerous terrorist. There are those who walk the talk, committing hideous crimes that without state-sponsored access to weapons would not be possible, but this is a different story.
Breaking into university computers has nothing to do with the hunt for terrorism. A lot of success of individual nations such as Germany bases on the link between research and industry, notably in Germany. Other countries try to emulate that. Attacking a country's research institutions and spying them out therefore amounts to nothing else than industrial espionage. It is an extremely hostile act, no excuse.
The USA have lost the moral high-ground for good by using disproportionate, in my opinion illegal measures. These Orwellian methods are reminiscent of the Third Reich, the Soviet Union and other communist countries. A national disgrace.
Resulting paranoia turns every disgruntled mid-puberty student posting violent thought online into a dangerous terrorist. There are those who walk the talk, committing hideous crimes that without state-sponsored access to weapons would not be possible, but this is a different story.
Breaking into university computers has nothing to do with the hunt for terrorism. A lot of success of individual nations such as Germany bases on the link between research and industry, notably in Germany. Other countries try to emulate that. Attacking a country's research institutions and spying them out therefore amounts to nothing else than industrial espionage. It is an extremely hostile act, no excuse.
The USA have lost the moral high-ground for good by using disproportionate, in my opinion illegal measures. These Orwellian methods are reminiscent of the Third Reich, the Soviet Union and other communist countries. A national disgrace.
hard times ! Jun 25th 2013
6:27pm
6:27pm
hunt for terrorists ? Or hunt for people all over world's personal data ? I wonder.Now all the netizens in the world well knows that the largest hacker (and their biggest enemy /nightmare) is no one but the National Security Agency of America which headquarters located at Meade,in the midway from Washington D.C. to Balitmore, it is now named the most mysterious city which monitors the world citizens on their internet and cell phone communications like the Big Brother in George Orwell's novel-----'1984' : Big Brother is Watching You ! all the time,day and night, around the clock. Beware !
hard times ! Jun 25th 2013
3:20pm
3:20pm
what was wrong with Mr.Snowden to get into the contractor of NSA---the largest hacker in the world to grab information concerning the cyber-surviellance done by that intelligence-collecting organisation which seriously violate all the people's privacy in this world (including we Hongkongers of whom over 4 millions are netizens.) ? By doing so, he could get access to those highly sensitive data and info to be stored in his USBs and smuggled out to Hong Kong to reveal to the reporters of The Guardian,Washington Post and South China Morning Post as well.Now maybe the secret agents of Russia are learning some/all of the data as well in Moscow where Snowden had arrived earlier on------------a nightmare to Obama and his intelligence heads indeed !
barkway Jun 25th 2013
10:20am
10:20am
Why are none of my replies to individual comments posting? Even if I refresh, and/or select "All" to show all comments, they never appear.
jenniepc Jun 25th 2013
9:47am
9:47am
The prosecution of Mr. Edward Snowden with violating espionage laws under the Espionage Act is questionable. Our First Amendment, one which is broad, progressive and encompasses almost any manner of expression. However, it seems to me if speech runs counter to the needs and actions of a government, said speech is deemed non-protected and in violation of Espionage Act. I do not agree with Mr. Jay Carney. Mr. Carney claimed that Mr. Snowden “failure to criticize these regimes suggests that his true motive throughout has been to injure the national security of the United States not to advance Internet freedom and free speech.” It is obviously that Mr. Carney or our government uses our Espionage Act of 1917 to interpret the First Amendment for purposes of its own self interest.
America has had a long history of providing asylums to all sorts of corrupt officials. I should remind US government that US have provided a safe heaven for those most Asian or African corruptive officials. Any forms of corruptions are no different from normal criminals, it does not matter if it is bribery, extortion, embezzlement, drug traf****, money laundering, or human traf****.
America has had a long history of providing asylums to all sorts of corrupt officials. I should remind US government that US have provided a safe heaven for those most Asian or African corruptive officials. Any forms of corruptions are no different from normal criminals, it does not matter if it is bribery, extortion, embezzlement, drug traf****, money laundering, or human traf****.
John Adams Jun 25th 2013
3:10pm
3:10pm
You make a very good point !
Spies work for one country's govt against another country . Certainly they report back the information they obtained by spying in secret ( and they usually sell their information as well )
Snowdon was working ( if that's the word) for all the people of the world on whom the USA itself had been spying, and he reported what he found openly to the whole world!
If anyone is guilty of espionage it's the US govt !
Spies work for one country's govt against another country . Certainly they report back the information they obtained by spying in secret ( and they usually sell their information as well )
Snowdon was working ( if that's the word) for all the people of the world on whom the USA itself had been spying, and he reported what he found openly to the whole world!
If anyone is guilty of espionage it's the US govt !
barkway Jun 25th 2013
7:00am
7:00am
This is a highly irresponsible misinterpretation of what Snowden said. Nowhere in this article is there a quote where he said he took the job at Booz Allen TO LEAK info. His "Correct on Booz" reply to the question about taking the job to "gather intelligence" is no more than an admission of a job description! His JOB was to gather intelligence! The other comments about level of access and pay also do not indicate a desire to LEAK info!
Wodetiana Jun 27th 2013
12:58pm
12:58pm
Well,even if he did seek employment for the purpose of gathering information, it is still for the purpose of reveling the truth about what the NSA was doing. He knew that things were not right and gathered evidence to prove it. He could not stay in US territory and release the information, let alone go through "normal" channels as the US government does not take kindly to being uncovered in their nefarious dealings.
bonnie.williams... Jun 25th 2013
5:01am
5:01am
In order to comment I had to agree to:
"South China Morning Post would like to access your public profile, friend list and email address". Fortunately, I have no list of "Friends" on the Social websites.
Another irony for this naive, narcisistic young Snowden. The US is condemned for gathering information in the same way that all world powers do. I do not agree with all my government's decisions and don't like the current "do-nothing" Congress, but history and world government lessons appear to have escaped the attention of those who think Snowden is anything more than a spy ready to sell the secrets of the country that gave him the opportunity to do so through its own constitution....talk about a tangled web.
Snowden is a spy, no less, no more. Up for the highest bidder. Want to change the United States, go to Congress for change, not to China or Russia or South America where freedom of speech is censored and never free.
"South China Morning Post would like to access your public profile, friend list and email address". Fortunately, I have no list of "Friends" on the Social websites.
Another irony for this naive, narcisistic young Snowden. The US is condemned for gathering information in the same way that all world powers do. I do not agree with all my government's decisions and don't like the current "do-nothing" Congress, but history and world government lessons appear to have escaped the attention of those who think Snowden is anything more than a spy ready to sell the secrets of the country that gave him the opportunity to do so through its own constitution....talk about a tangled web.
Snowden is a spy, no less, no more. Up for the highest bidder. Want to change the United States, go to Congress for change, not to China or Russia or South America where freedom of speech is censored and never free.
thetimchannel Jun 25th 2013
4:08am
4:08am
This makes Edward Snowden even more of a hero, since he went into in knowing he was probably going to ruin his life on behalf of saving the democracy he grew up with if he did find the kind of abusive surveillance state he feared was being implemented and that he was bent on exposing. Attempts to impeach the 'nobility' of his actions are misguided. He didn't hack into your bank account and rob you blind. He didn't steal your identity. He's not trying to blackmail people based on their politics, medical history, religious affiliation, etc. He's showing HOW EASY it is for someone to do it. He's highlighting what should be obvious from history. Vast databases of citizen data cannot be secured from piracy, theft or misuse by government officials.
One last aside. Bush (and now Obama) have tried to keep the hard facts of United States war crimes in Iraq out of the minds of the public. Obama's failure to prosecute former Bush officials is criminal in and of itself. We now have folks like Bush and Cheney openly bragging on TV about how they institutionalized the very torture they first insisted wasn't happening (and then tried to dump off on a couple Army privates) War crimes do not have a statute of limitations.
Thanks again to the good people of China for not sending Snowden back to an outlaw regime where he would have been tortured and humiliated just for having the bad fortune of being born an American with a soul and a conscience.
Enjoy.
One last aside. Bush (and now Obama) have tried to keep the hard facts of United States war crimes in Iraq out of the minds of the public. Obama's failure to prosecute former Bush officials is criminal in and of itself. We now have folks like Bush and Cheney openly bragging on TV about how they institutionalized the very torture they first insisted wasn't happening (and then tried to dump off on a couple Army privates) War crimes do not have a statute of limitations.
Thanks again to the good people of China for not sending Snowden back to an outlaw regime where he would have been tortured and humiliated just for having the bad fortune of being born an American with a soul and a conscience.
Enjoy.
vivianyee Jun 26th 2013
2:08pm
2:08pm
NSA is a fascist organization, no different than Stasi. Snowden is only revealing the ugly truth behind America's "The Protector of Freedom" propaganda. Don't shoot the messenger is what I say to the Yanks as it's unlikely to change your ugly face.
Zero respect for the yanks from now own.
Zero respect for the yanks from now own.
richard.dickson... Jun 25th 2013
4:04am
4:04am
While the incompetent Obama regime chases after a 30 year old high school dropout around the world at our expense, the other scandals still are unfolding, ie IRS, State Dept. Prism, NSA, VA, etc. Obama should do the right thing...fire Clapper, Holder and Alexander, and then resign in disgrace.
thetimchannel Jun 25th 2013
3:43am
3:43am
I'm planning my next vacation for Hong Kong. Thanks to the good people of China for showing resolve in the face of what must have been intensive threats and pressure from the criminal elements who have captured the American political system. Enjoy.
hard times ! Jun 27th 2013
4:06pm
4:06pm
you are much welcomed here ! Hong Kong is actually the gateway to go to Mainland China and our Chinese cuisine is well-known all over the world ! Meet you soon here !
hard times ! Jun 27th 2013
12:50pm
12:50pm
you are most welcomed to come here to Hongkong as we are the gateway to Mainland China and remember to check in at least a 4-star hotel (by the way,you can check in the one once lived by our leaker-hero,Mr.Snowden's Mira Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui,Kowloon, Hong Kong.It is quite a nice one and enjoy your stay here as Mr.Snowden.You will be impressed by our hospitality as we showed upon Mr.Snowden.Then you may fly to either Shanghai or Beijing and check in those marvellous 5-star hotels there to check if the nasty guy down below:KwunTongBypass claimed are true or not before condemning him for his lies !!
KwunTongBypass Jun 25th 2013
2:48pm
2:48pm
How about visiting the "good people of China" in their homeland, live in hotels with no foreign TV channels, bookstores with no foreign newspapers, and a fully censored internet. Enjoy!
hard times ! Jun 27th 2013
12:45pm
12:45pm
you are misleading our dear readers indeed ! When's your last visit to China ? probably four decades ago---well before the 'Open door policy' to be sure.You better spare sometime to go to our neighbouring Shenzhen and check in the Shanghi-la Hotel--a 5-star hotel to prove what you told the writer above ! You will be shameful for your blackmouthing of modern-day China which major cities on the coast are packed with 5-star luxurious hotels owned by foreigners !
rhiannon.welles Jun 25th 2013
3:42am
3:42am
I called this. After his friend was interviewed by Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC it was obvious he took the job with the specific intent of stealing information from the NSA. And now he's admitted it. Still think he's a hero?
Wodetiana Jun 27th 2013
1:14pm
1:14pm
Yes, of course he is, his intent is what makes him a hero. He knew before he got that job that something was very wrong, and he got the proof.
Paradox314 Jun 25th 2013
6:37am
6:37am
Yes. Why not? How does this change the situation at all? You seem to think that him purposefully seeking to expose the US govt illegal activity is somehow less honourable than his coming across the information by accident. There is no logic to your thinking as far as I can tell. Can you please explain clearly your train of thought?
steveyuhas2 Jun 25th 2013
2:39am
2:39am
I guess there is no longer any doubt about what Edward Snowden is - a criminal. He lays out, for the first time, to the South China Morning Post that he took the job at Booz Allen in order to gain access to sensitive information in the intelligence community. How was this not caught? How many people were able to do the same thing and have either not been caught or are still operating in plain sight? This should send a warning that the government must be purged of people today and we should just start over, but the "Snowden is a hero" crowd should just be quiet now.
hard times ! Jun 25th 2013
12:52pm
12:52pm
a criminal ? maybe in Obama's administration's eyes and his closest accomplice the UK's GCHQ's eyes as well.But not in the eyes of most netizens all over the world and the majority of Hongkongers who were honounred to host this leaker-hero during his month-long stay here and his revelations of the top-secret cyberspying acts done by the largest hacker in the world---the National Security Agency of America which hacked into our Internet Exchange at our Chinese Univ.in Shatin since 2009 and the computers of our public officials,businessmen and students (maybe they are also terroritsts !) Snowden maybe considered a criminal of conscience who told the world that their privacy has long been violated by the state-owned intelligence-collecting agency on the excuses of national interests and anti-terrorism.Gone are the days of these shameless hypocrites who hold double standards in respecting human rights, liberty and cybersecurity which Obama told President Xi five times during their meeting at the Sunnyland Estate in California---it is theft, we can't tolerate it ! But why should the world netizens tolerate the hackings of the Big Brother---Uncle Sam ? I wonder.
barkway Jun 25th 2013
10:16am
10:16am
Well of course he sought the job to gain access to sensitive information. I imagine that is why many people seek that kind of work. It is exciting, exclusive, and a great resume item. This does not mean he took the job to leak information and it was irresponsible of the author of this piece to make that implication.
barkway Jun 25th 2013
9:53am
9:53am
Of course he took the job to have access to intelligence. That is why a lot of people take those sorts of jobs, I imagine. It is exciting, exclusive, and a great resume item. This does NOT mean he took the job to LEAK info. Honestly, it's a little shocking how poor peoples' comprehension skills are, including the author of this article who has completely misrepresented what Snowden said & implied his/her own meaning.
Paradox314 Jun 25th 2013
9:05am
9:05am
****videos.huffingtonpost.com/lonnie-snowdens-powerful-message-to-his-son-edward-snowden-517823829
mikeyj0693 Jun 25th 2013
3:17am
3:17am
You are a complete ****. Clearly you don't know the entire story, nor do you have a clue about what's happening outside (or inside) the United States. It doesn't matter whether or not you are guilty of anything in America. Maybe you don't understand that these programs violate our constitution. Maybe you don't even know what our constitution says. i don't think you realize that every text, every opinion, every call, every skype, ANY form of communication aside from Face-to-Face chat is recorded. Your phone can be off, and they can still listen in on verbal conversations if it's in their interest.They don't even need a warrant, and your fate is decided by a secret court. I don't think you can name one person this information harmed, other than the lying politicians that are currently in office. If you think Mr. Snowden is a criminal for protecting our rights, you don't deserve to live in this country. He reveals the US is hacking china, and that makes him a criminal, but hacking people illegally is okay right? You're the putrid rat that should be purged. And i'm glad that you're so confident in reading this article of the South China Morning Post, but if you ask me this is a one-sided opinion based article. I can't even begin to tell you everything that's wrong with America. You wanna know what'sup? Look up Monsanto, Chem-trails, global riots numbering in the millions, and anything related to those matters. then ask why this is happening. Goodluck ignorant american
felicia.r.faulkner Jun 25th 2013
2:33am
2:33am
Save travels Mr. Snowden --- The Americans who want you to keep going!
mschmidthk Jun 25th 2013
1:12am
1:12am
Oh no, not another Snowden EXCLUSIVE from SCMP - I was hoping we'd seen the end of those!
****** Jun 25th 2013
1:11am
1:11am
The Hong Kong government and people have earned the respect of the American people for allowing Snowden to proceed.
hard times ! Jun 24th 2013
11:45pm
11:45pm
it sounds like David has beaten Goliath as mentioned in the Bible.Of course it also sounds like the character in our ancient classic,'Legend of the Water Margin',Hu Chong who beat the Big Tiger which used to terrorize the innocent villagers---now it is world-wide known that the Big Brother has long been hacking into computers of the netizens all over the world---including her own citizens.No one is spared even her close allies,not to say our tiny Hongkong's students,businessmen,public officials and ...someone like this outspoken writer here !
