HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019517.jpg
1.6 MB
Extraction Summary
1
People
5
Organizations
1
Locations
2
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Book manuscript / proof page (likely from 'how america lost its secrets' by edward jay epstein)
File Size:
1.6 MB
Summary
This document is a page from a book manuscript (likely by Edward Jay Epstein based on the filename prefix 'Epst' and ISBN) discussing Edward Snowden's transition from the CIA to private contracting for the NSA. It details how intelligence agencies outsourced IT work to companies like Dell to bypass budget limits, and how Snowden's existing top-secret clearance made him a valuable recruit for Dell's operations in Japan in 2009. The page bears a House Oversight Bates stamp, indicating it was part of a congressional inquiry.
People (1)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Snowden | Applicant/Contractor |
Applied for a job with a Dell subsidiary to work for the NSA; held top secret clearance.
|
Organizations (5)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. government |
Target of Snowden's growing antagonism.
|
|
| CIA |
Former employer of Snowden; outsourced work to private companies.
|
|
| NSA |
National Security Agency; outsourced IT work to Dell.
|
|
| Dell |
Managed government computer systems; hired Snowden.
|
|
| NSA's Technology Directorate |
Provided contracts to Dell.
|
Locations (1)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of an NSA regional base where Snowden applied to work.
|
Key Quotes (4)
"Private corporations hired civilian technicians to work for spy agencies as independent contractors."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019517.jpg
Quote #1
"This arrangement allowed the NSA to effectively bypass budget limits and other restrictions limiting how many NSA technicians it could recruit."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019517.jpg
Quote #2
"For an outside contractor such as Dell, such a security clearance was pure gold."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019517.jpg
Quote #3
"If a recruit already had the clearance, as Snowden did, he could begin working immediately."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019517.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,372 characters)
Contractor | 29
growing antagonism toward the U.S. government, he had not given up on, if not becoming a secret agent, working in the netherworld of secret intelligence.
There was still a back door through which he could reenter the spy world. Private corporations hired civilian technicians to work for spy agencies as independent contractors. By 2009, the CIA, the NSA, and other U.S. intelligence services had outsourced much of the job of maintaining and upgrading their computer systems to these private companies. They supplied the NSA with most of its system administrators and other information technology workers. This arrangement allowed the NSA to effectively bypass budget limits and other restrictions limiting how many NSA technicians it could recruit. Instead of being on the NSA’s own payroll, these people nominally worked for, and received their paychecks from, private employers. In fact, many of these outside contractors worked full-time for the NSA.
Snowden applied in April 2009 to one of these private companies, a subsidiary of the Dell computer company. To diversify out of manufacturing computers, Dell had recently gone into the business of managing government computer systems for the NSA and other intelligence services. As a leading specialist in the field of corporate cyber security, Dell had no problem obtaining sizable contracts from the NSA’s Technology Directorate. In 2008, the NSA had in effect outsourced to Dell the task of reorganizing the backup systems at its regional bases. Dell had to find thousands of independent contractors to work at these bases. In 2009, it was seeking to fill positions at the NSA’s regional base in Japan, and Snowden applied. Relocating would be no issue for him because he had a longtime interest in going to Japan.
He had little problem obtaining the job. He had a single compelling qualification: like all other CIA officers, he had been given a top secret clearance. For an outside contractor such as Dell, such a security clearance was pure gold. If a potential recruit lacked it, Dell needed to wait for a time-consuming background check that would have to be conducted before it could deploy him or her at the NSA. If a recruit already had the clearance, as Snowden did, he could begin working immediately.
There was still a back door through which he could reenter the spy world. Private corporations hired civilian technicians to work for spy agencies as independent contractors. By 2009, the CIA, the NSA, and other U.S. intelligence services had outsourced much of the job of maintaining and upgrading their computer systems to these private companies. They supplied the NSA with most of its system administrators and other information technology workers. This arrangement allowed the NSA to effectively bypass budget limits and other restrictions limiting how many NSA technicians it could recruit. Instead of being on the NSA’s own payroll, these people nominally worked for, and received their paychecks from, private employers. In fact, many of these outside contractors worked full-time for the NSA.
Snowden applied in April 2009 to one of these private companies, a subsidiary of the Dell computer company. To diversify out of manufacturing computers, Dell had recently gone into the business of managing government computer systems for the NSA and other intelligence services. As a leading specialist in the field of corporate cyber security, Dell had no problem obtaining sizable contracts from the NSA’s Technology Directorate. In 2008, the NSA had in effect outsourced to Dell the task of reorganizing the backup systems at its regional bases. Dell had to find thousands of independent contractors to work at these bases. In 2009, it was seeking to fill positions at the NSA’s regional base in Japan, and Snowden applied. Relocating would be no issue for him because he had a longtime interest in going to Japan.
He had little problem obtaining the job. He had a single compelling qualification: like all other CIA officers, he had been given a top secret clearance. For an outside contractor such as Dell, such a security clearance was pure gold. If a potential recruit lacked it, Dell needed to wait for a time-consuming background check that would have to be conducted before it could deploy him or her at the NSA. If a recruit already had the clearance, as Snowden did, he could begin working immediately.
Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 29 9/29/16 5:51 PM |
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019517
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019517
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