Snowden began downloading NSA secrets while working at Dell

reuters

Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden began downloading documents describing the U.S. government's electronic spying programs while he was working for Dell Inc in April 2012, almost a year earlier than previously reported, according to U.S. officials and other sources familiar with the matter.

Snowden downloaded information while employed by Dell about eavesdropping programs run by the NSA and Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, and left an electronic footprint indicating when he accessed the documents, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Some of the material Snowden downloaded in April 2012 while a Dell employee related to NSA collection from fiber-optic cables, including transoceanic cables, of large quantities of internet traffic and other communications, the sources said.

In February 2010, while working for Dell, Snowden wrote in an internet technology forum, Ars Technica, that he was bothered by technology companies allegedly giving the U.S. government access to private computer servers.

"It really concerns me how little this sort of corporate behavior bothers those outside of technology circles," Snowden wrote under the screen name "The True HooHA." "Society really seems to have developed an unquestioning obedience towards spooky types."

So I am guessing he went to work for Booz Allen Hamilton because he was concerned and to get better access.

Thing is, he was able to do this without even working for the NSA! Seems someone has a lot 'of splaing to do, Lucy.'

Dell certainly has come a long way since they were just one of the world's biggest crappy computer makers. They've graduated to one of the world's largest crappy Gestapo suppliers. Well, I'm sure they see it as stepping up. I think of it more as seeing the turd they are, float a little higher in the cess pool.

There again, I come around to wondering why Snowden couldn't have had that attack of conscience a little earlier? Better late than never, at least ...but how things might have been different if he'd acted during his several years as an in-house employee of the Central Intelligence Agency. Ahh well.... It is still better later than never.

...as long as he really is who he says he is, this time, of course. Precious little has changed since his leaks and in the end? For all the promise? He basically told people what they already knew and less juicy stuff than a Tom Clancy novel (many thought to be closer to true than some are comfortable with....so rumor has it). Time will tell for how this plays out.

Okay, had a smoke and got to wondering...do fiber optic cables make access easier? I was talking to my hair stylist today who lives a few houses down from me. She says she can't get ATT uvrerse because she doesn't have fiber optics. I do and according to her the man next door (opposite side) of her does, but for some reason she doesn't. I don't see her as a person interested in conspiracy theories or anything anti gov. Plus she is a busy lady.

Need some enlightenment here. Why did Snowden mention fiber optic cables?

This is why....

World-Wide Submarine Cable Map

If you dig a bit, cryptome has more that goes right down to google earth pics of the handful of buildings, one by one on a page, all traffic across the Atlantic Ocean pass through. I frankly wasn't comfortable linking to that directly. Someone else can..but it felt a bit much.

Even Some international traffic on to Asia or back the other way is passing through those few hubs. So..If they have been tied in all this time, and are 100% plugged in today (which I always assumed they were anyway), they have 100% of international traffic not routing through Satellites. Very little is Satellite based ...so that's most of the world's communications crossing oceans ..in what? 6-12 buildings as information super-highway choke points?

from Wikipedia

Cryptome is a digital library host created in 1996 by American independent scholars[1] and architects John Young and Deborah Natsios.[2] The digital library functions as a repository for information about freedom of speech, cryptography, spying, and surveillance. According to its mission statement, "Cryptome welcomes documents for publication that are prohibited by governments worldwide, in particular material on freedom of expression, privacy, cryptology, dual-use technologies, national security, intelligence, and secret governance—open, secret and classified documents—but not limited to those."[3]

Sorry Wrabbit, the rest I wasn't able to follow. Not too Techie here.