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

forbes.com

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

#11

Post by Cthulhu_ »

astine wrote: post #7
Edmond wrote: post #3

Nothing in that piece to suggest Snowden was a "A Genius Among Geniuses"...on what basis does his genius rest? AFAIK there is no record of Snowden doing any kind of work out there that'll suggest he knew anything about computing security. It seems people have forgotten that there are a ton of freely available computer security tools out there that any body can take and do a lot of damage with.

That quote is apparently the opinion of one of the NSA staffers that worked with him. Apparently he was more talented than most of the other employees and contractors.

Indeed; a statement like that is either reflective of Snowden's skill level, or the average skill level of his co-workers. I haven't personally seen anything out of the ordinary yet for a generic sysadmin/developer/hacker/internet freedom fighter character.

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

#12

Post by Zikes »

Edmond wrote: post #3

Nothing in that piece to suggest Snowden was a "A Genius Among Geniuses"...on what basis does his genius rest? AFAIK there is no record of Snowden doing any kind of work out there that'll suggest he knew anything about computing security. It seems people have forgotten that there are a ton of freely available computer security tools out there that any body can take and do a lot of damage with.

The basis for his genius appears to be the opinion of his colleague, which you're free to accept or reject. If his colleague's claims are to be believed, his activities and accolades within the NSA would be sufficient record of his computing security experience.

Not everyone has to publish a white paper or open a GitHub account in order to be taken seriously.

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

#13

Post by skrebbel »

kushti wrote: post #4

The difference between Snowden and other NSA employees is that Snowden is the real U.S. patriot, not just government worker.

I don't understand that. Why is doing the right thing somehow "patriotic"?

You don't need to "love your country" to want to make it a better place.

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

#14

Post by cryoshon »

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…

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 leaks than the leak itself.

A discussion of the leaker is a discussion that is not entirely focused on the meaning of what they leaked.

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

#15

Post by sp332 »

Edmond wrote: post #10
sp332 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't mention anything about security. There's a backup system, and a web front-end. Whatever his work was, it was impressive enough to get him an invite to the Tailored Access Operations. Not all work at the NSA was cutting-edge encryption.

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.

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

#16

Post by k__ »

skrebbel wrote: post #13
kushti wrote: post #4

The difference between Snowden and other NSA employees is that Snowden is the real U.S. patriot, not just government worker.

I don't understand that. Why is doing the right thing somehow "patriotic"? You don't need to "love your country" to want to make it a better place.

Probably the other way around.

If you do something for the people of a country you're patriotic.

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

#17

Post by Edmond »

Zikes wrote: post #12
Edmond wrote: post #3

Nothing in that piece to suggest Snowden was a "A Genius Among Geniuses"...on what basis does his genius rest? AFAIK there is no record of Snowden doing any kind of work out there that'll suggest he knew anything about computing security. It seems people have forgotten that there are a ton of freely available computer security tools out there that any body can take and do a lot of damage with.

The basis for his genius appears to be the opinion of his colleague, which you're free to accept or reject. If his colleague's claims are to be believed, his activities and accolades within the NSA would be sufficient record of his computing security experience. Not everyone has to publish a white paper or open a GitHub account in order to be taken seriously.

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.

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

#18

Post by jere »

astine wrote: post #7
Edmond wrote: post #3

Nothing in that piece to suggest Snowden was a "A Genius Among Geniuses"...on what basis does his genius rest? AFAIK there is no record of Snowden doing any kind of work out there that'll suggest he knew anything about computing security. It seems people have forgotten that there are a ton of freely available computer security tools out there that any body can take and do a lot of damage with.

That quote is apparently the opinion of one of the NSA staffers that worked with him. Apparently he was more talented than most of the other employees and contractors.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

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

#19

Post by samstave »

hosh wrote: post #9
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…

You're not deluded. I expect we'll see more of this kind of thing and these kind of people to appear.

I'd be interested to see if they attempt to fake people who know him...

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

#20

Post by randallsquared »

skrebbel wrote: post #13
kushti wrote: post #4

The difference between Snowden and other NSA employees is that Snowden is the real U.S. patriot, not just government worker.

I don't understand that. Why is doing the right thing somehow "patriotic"? You don't need to "love your country" to want to make it a better place.

Wanting to make your country a better place is evidence that you love your country, at least.
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