Edward Snowden: 'I care more about the country than what happens to me'
Author and journalist James Bamford recently gained unprecedented access to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, whose temporary asylum in Russia was just extended for three more years. The result is a thorough, exclusive interview published in the September issue of Wired.
According to Bamford, a gaunt-looking Snowden is taking great pains to evade his NSA and CIA pursuers. He limits his contact with outsiders, avoids American-trafficked areas in Russia, and switches computers and email accounts constantly. During their meetings, Bamford wasn't allowed to bring his iPhone because he was warned that "a cell phone can easily be turned into an NSA microphone" even when it is turned off. Despite such vigilance, Snowden believes it's only a matter of time before he is caught. "I'm going to slip up and they're going to hack me. It's going to happen," he says.
But Snowden isn't afraid of jail time, he claims, "so long as it was for the right purpose." He adds, "I care more about the country than what happens to me. But we can't allow the law to become a political weapon or agree to scare people away from standing up for their rights, no matter how good the deal. I'm not going to be part of that."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Perhaps the most interesting revelations in Bamford's article, however, are about the final events that pushed Snowden to become a leaker. In the spring of 2013, Snowden learned of an NSA program called MonsterMind that hunted for the beginnings of foreign cyber attacks. Unlike similar, competing software, MonsterMind would automatically fire back, with no human involvement. That was a problem for Snowden, Bamford writes:
Read Bamford's complete interview at Wired.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138M
Speed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
14 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From photos of the infant universe to an energy advancement that could save the planet
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Who will win the 2024 presidential election?
In Depth Election year is here. Who are pollsters and experts predicting to win the White House?
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published