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NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

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Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#61

Post by ZoF »

sp332 wrote: post #15
Edmond wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you miss that? the whole article speaks to his supposed security prowess: * Snowden had been brought to Hawaii as a cybersecurity expert working for Dell’s services division but due to a problem with the contract was reassigned to become an administrator for the Microsoft intranet management system known as Sharepoint.

And the next sentence starts Impressed with his technical abilities, Snowden’s managers decided that he was the most qualified candidate to build a new web front-end So whatever he did that was impressive, it wasn't security-related.

How can you tell from that statement that his impressive act was 100% not security related.... All you can really say is that it wasn't necessarily security related.

Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#62

Post by mattlutze »

SkyMarshal wrote: post #35
cryoshon wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that the character of the whistleblowers themselves has anything to do with the quality or impact of the information they leak is a propaganda trick enforced by the media-- a leak with a face can be discredited if the face can be discredited, and in the 21st century, everyone has skeletons in the closet. Additionally, if your aim is to obscure, it's far easier to focus on the flaws of the person behind the l…

That's the ad hominem fallacy - shoot the messenger, discredit the message by discrediting the messenger even though the two have no logical relation. It's a testament to our educational system that so many people fall for it. Though part of it, I'm sure, is that it simply gives many people a rationale for believing what they already want to believe.

The problem, though, is exactly what fidotron describes: without independent validation, we must trust the credibility of the source of a leak, for that leaked information to be considered valid.

If Snowden were a character if ill-repute or questionable morality (outside the question of the morality of leaking intelligence secrets to foreign countries), it requires that you question whether any of the leaked information may have been tampered with.

Once the relevant leaked-upon agency admits to the validity of information, then definitely the messenger's credibility becomes decoupled from the truthiness of the message.

Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#63

Post by worldsayshi »

lukev wrote: post #52
jeswin wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm all for whistleblowing on how the NSA is abusing its powers to spy on US citizens, and I think it's extremely important that he did so. I really wish he'd constrained himself to that. I can't believe you're saying this. Is your judgement so clouded by patriotism that you somehow think other people have no right to their privacy? Let me explain the consequences of what you are suggesting here, apart from the obvio…

Those are my ideals - I am a pacifist, I'd much prefer that we wound down this (and most other) military activity. I was simply pointing out how Snowden's actions reflect on his character. Whistleblowing: Revealing that an entity is doing things it should not be doing so the correct oversight can be put in place. Sabatoge: Deliberately destroying the capabilities of an organization by means of deception and rule-brea…

But there will always be overlap between the two. If you disclose secrets of an organization you act against its rules and harm its capabilities. It's merely a difference in what interests you will acknowledge as you act.

Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#64

Post by jsumrall »

pmorici wrote: post #59
tootie wrote: post #32

The fact that the NSA needed help to setup Sharepoint fills me with confidence that they have no idea what they're doing. I'm guessing the password to the call log metadata is on a post-it note somewhere.

The government's workforce is made of of a very large percentage of contractors 50%+. The article makes it seem like he was a unicorn but that probably wasn't the case. Contractor employees often get paid more than a government counter part doing the same job[0]. If I had to venture a guess as to why this is I'd say it is because those contractors turn around and make political donations where as many government empl…

I think its more because their contract has an expiration date. They get paid more because there is a "risk" that they could be unemployed for some time before they find a new contract (not likely for programming jobs, but speaking about contractors in general...) whereas a gov't employee has a huge amount of job security. Its a choice of Money vs. Job security.

Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#65

Post by chris_mahan »

jonknee wrote: post #39
Edmond wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When people are labeled geniuses, independent evidence is important, especially when they've become a cause célèbre. Geniuses generally have a body of work to stand on, not just a friend/family/colleague opinion.

I would say being a self-taught computer expert who out-smarted the most technically advanced intelligence agency in the history of the world at their own game would lend itself to being a body of work. He also outmaneuvered the State Department and as a lone actor has been able to thumb his nose at the most powerful people in the world while his data has been front page news in dozens of countries around the world f…

His achievements, in so short a life, are nothing less than astounding.

Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#66

Post by chris_mahan »

sp332 wrote: post #15
Edmond wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you miss that? the whole article speaks to his supposed security prowess: * Snowden had been brought to Hawaii as a cybersecurity expert working for Dell’s services division but due to a problem with the contract was reassigned to become an administrator for the Microsoft intranet management system known as Sharepoint.

And the next sentence starts Impressed with his technical abilities, Snowden’s managers decided that he was the most qualified candidate to build a new web front-end So whatever he did that was impressive, it wasn't security-related.

Anyone building a web front-end needs to have a lot of security-related knowledge (implement https correctly, cross site scripting and other js vulnerabilities, sql injection, buffer overflows in your apps, etc.)

Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#67

Post by lhc- »

sheetjs wrote: post #27
Theodores wrote: post #6

Snowden differs from many of the whistleblower ilk in that there is nothing to dislike about his character (yet). The media have not dished any dirt, none of his friends/family/ex-lovers have came forward with anything untoward about him and he hasn't shown any signs of being deluded. Even if you try your hardest to 'believe', a lot of whistleblowers have been deluded one way or another. They can be overly indoctrina…

> Snowden differs from many of the whistleblower ilk in that there is nothing to dislike about his character (yet). ... and because the leaks related to issues that outraged most people. It's easy to understand the concerns regarding spying, and most people have a visceral negative reaction. It's much more difficult to elicit that type of response to, say, human rights violations that don't directly affect most Ameri…

I'm not sure which media you are referring to as "friendly", but unless its the Guardian or some independent journalist, basically the entirely of establishment journalism is incredibly hostile towards Snowden and is siding completely with the USG. If they had dirt, they would release it immediately (notice how they parrot all the unsubstantiated claims of unnamed USG officals, for example).

Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#68

Post by gogras »

tootie wrote: post #32

The fact that the NSA needed help to setup Sharepoint fills me with confidence that they have no idea what they're doing. I'm guessing the password to the call log metadata is on a post-it note somewhere.

That also means IE is the primary browser they're using.

Re: NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"

#69

Post by daned »

herbig wrote: post #56

I like how they say he "cheated" on the entrance exam to the NSA by stealing the questions and answers from their servers, as if that doesn't just make him more qualified for the job..

Yes, this cracks me up. He was joining an organization of cheats and snitches and they got mad when he cheated.
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