Edward Snowden's New Job: Tech Support

Nerval's Lobster writes "Government whistleblower Edward Snowden, exiled in Russia after releasing top-secret documents about the National Security Agency's surveillance activities to the press, has a new job: tech support. Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told the Associated Press that his client starts work Nov. 1 for a "major" Russian Website, which he declined to name. In June, Snowden—a former CIA employee who worked as a contractor for the NSA—began feeding an enormous pile of classified charts and documents about federal surveillance programs to The Guardian and other newspapers. Many of those documents suggested that the NSA, ordinarily tasked with intercepting communications from terrorists and foreign governments, collects massive amounts of information on ordinary Americans, which in turn ignited a firestorm of controversy. The Snowden revelations have continued into this week, with The Washington Post reporting that the NSA has aggressively targeted Google and Yahoo servers. Snowden's documents suggest that the agency has figured out how to tap the links connecting the two tech giants' datacenters to the broader Web. Google told the Post that it was "troubled" by the report. A Yahoo spokesperson insisted that the company had "strict controls in place to protect the security of our datacenters" and that "we have not given access to our data centers to the NSA or to any other government agency.""

Comments

IT support

[K. S. Kyosuke]

"IT support. Have you tried turning the NSA tapping device off and on again?"

Re:IT support

[Anonymous Coward]

Dammit, it was working fine last week. I had Merkel's phone records, Calderón's e-mails, I even had Rousseff's contact list. Can't you IT people keep anything working!

Re:IT support

[Thanshin]

"IT support?"
"Yes."
"I hear a strange noise on my phone."
"It's... cosmic radiation. Yeah. That's it. A whole bunch of cosmic radiation."
[long pause]
"... Tovarisch, you know in this country we do study physics, right?"

Re:IT support

[BitZtream]

Accusing Russia at this point of a few malware USB sticks without presenting any hard evidence is really just lame and shows how desperate they are to divert media attention off their own despicable actions (i.e. spying for industrial and economic espionage purposes, G20 has nothing to do with terrorism).

Not nearly as lame as pretending Russia doesn't do it.

Here's a hint guys ... our spy agencies ... SPY ON PEOPLE, ITS THEIR FUCKING JOB. Why the fuck do you guys act surprised or outraged? This has been going on for thousands of years, you're an idiot if Snowden has told you something you didn't know before.

You should be pissed that the NSA is spying on Americans. But you should be more pissed if they weren't spying on leaders of other countries. That is their charter. EVERYONE KNOW IT except apparently a bunch of moron wanna be geeks who seem to be shocked that our spy organization spy on people.

permissions

[schneidafunk]

Don't give him root.

Wow, harsh.

[T.E.D.]

So he hasn't even been arrested yet, and his punishement has already started?

Now *that's* punishment

[Chris Mattern]

He should've just let them shoot him.

In Soviet Russia

[Anonymous Coward]

Document leaker provides IT support for YOU!

Re:Hell Desk

[rvw]

I can feel his pain.

Then it's your pain, not his.

Re:SNOWDEN !! DOUBLE-AGENT ??

[CreatureComfort]

That is so incredibly devious! It take s real fiend to spread rumors and lies this malicious.

NSA Operative: Our public profile is way too high, and this Snowden jerk is winning in the popularity polls. We need to discredit him, quick!
NSA Public Relations Rat: Well, we need to get people to despise Snowden and focus on him and his new antics so we can fade back into the background.
NSA Operative: OK, so who is the most despised group on earth? Terrorists? Traitors?
NSA PRR: No. No. We've been trying that for months, and we just can't get any traction with the press or public. Worse, both those arguments lead back to us and our data.
NSA Operative: How about members of Congress, or the White House?
NSA PRR: You mean get him elected? No good, do you know what a seat in Congress is going for these days? Even our black budget can't afford any more than we already have, and don't even get me started on what a White House position costs now.
NSA Operative: Hmm... pedophile rapist?
NSA PRR: Maybe you're onto something... He is in Russia after-all... Wait! I've got it. The most universally reviled, disgusting, hated group in the world!
NSA Operative: What? What!?
NSA PRR: We'll tell everyone he's....... Tech Support.
NSA Operative: You vicious bastard. Even I couldn't have some up with something so foul. I love you for it.

Re:Hell Desk

[ackthpt]

I can feel his pain.

Then it's your pain, not his.

In Soviet Russia Snowden feels your pain TOO!