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1.59 MB
Extraction Summary
5
People
7
Organizations
7
Locations
3
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Book excerpt / government production
File Size:
1.59 MB
Summary
This document is page 186 from the book 'How America Lost Its Secrets' (authored by Edward Jay Epstein, indicated by the file name 'Epst'), produced as part of a House Oversight investigation. The text details the intelligence fallout from Edward Snowden's 2013 data theft, including the compromise of British GCHQ operations and the inability of the U.S. to track Russian troop movements in Crimea. It discusses the transition from General Alexander to Admiral Michael Rogers at the NSA and the long-term damage assessment regarding U.S. electronic intelligence capabilities.
People (5)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Snowden | Former NSA contractor/Leaker |
Subject of the text; accused of stealing documents and compromising intelligence operations.
|
| General Alexander | Former NSA Director |
Warned in 2014 about NSA losing capabilities due to disclosures.
|
| Admiral Michael Rogers | NSA Director (Alexander's replacement) |
Tasked with restoring morale and rebuilding electronic intelligence capabilities.
|
| Senator Humphrey | U.S. Senator |
Received an avowal from Snowden regarding the protection of secrets.
|
| Obama | Former U.S. President |
Referenced in context of the 'Obama White House'.
|
Organizations (7)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| NSA |
National Security Agency; victim of the data breach.
|
|
| The Wall Street Journal |
Reported on Russian planners evading U.S. eavesdropping.
|
|
| Sunday Times of London |
Published a 2015 story about British intelligence compromises.
|
|
| GCHQ |
British intelligence agency; provided documents to NSA that were stolen.
|
|
| CIA |
Central Intelligence Agency; assumed the worst regarding the breach.
|
|
| Department of Defense |
Assumed the worst regarding the breach.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Likely source of the document production (indicated by Bates stamp).
|
Timeline (3 events)
Locations (7)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of Russian troop movements.
|
|
|
Location of Russian troop movements.
|
|
|
Where Snowden went.
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Country whose secret operations were compromised.
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|
Adversary nation; assumed to have obtained access to secrets.
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|
Adversary nation; assumed to have obtained access to secrets.
|
|
|
Country losing secrets.
|
Relationships (2)
Snowden made an avowal to Senator Humphrey regarding his actions.
Rogers is described as Alexander's replacement.
Key Quotes (4)
"Russian planners might have gotten a jump on the West by evading U.S. eavesdropping."Source
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Quote #1
"losing some of its capabilities, because they’re being disclosed to our adversaries."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019674.jpg
Quote #2
"Russia and China had obtained access to the "keys to the kingdom.""Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019674.jpg
Quote #3
"The NSA had failed to protect vital assets. This intelligence failure did not happen out of the blue."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019674.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,334 characters)
186 | HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS
Russian troop movements in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine. U.S. intelligence officials even went so far as to suggest, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, that "Russian planners might have gotten a jump on the West by evading U.S. eavesdropping."
Britain also discovered that some of its secret operations had been compromised after Snowden went to Moscow. According to a 2015 story in the Sunday Times of London, British intelligence had determined that Britain’s intelligence-gathering sources had been exposed to adversary services by documents that Snowden had stolen from the NSA in 2013. These documents had been provided to the NSA by the GCHQ. Unless such intelligence disasters were freak aberrations, it appeared to confirm General Alexander’s warning in 2014 that the NSA was "losing some of its capabilities, because they’re being disclosed to our adversaries."
Snowden’s supporters disputed this view. If only as an act of faith in Snowden’s personal integrity, they continued to believe his avowal to Senator Humphrey that he had acted to protect U.S. secrets by shielding them from adversary intelligence services after he took them abroad. They also continued to take him at his word when he said he had destroyed all the NSA documents before going to Russia. Despite such protestations of patriotic loyalty, U.S. intelligence officials could not so easily dismiss the possibility that the missing documents still existed. After all, a U.S. intelligence worker who is dedicated to protecting America’s secrets from its adversaries does not ordinarily steal them.
The NSA, the CIA, and the Department of Defense therefore had little choice but to assume the worst had happened: Russia and China had obtained access to the "keys to the kingdom." Whatever the extent of the actual damage, it was up to Alexander’s replacement, Admiral Michael Rogers, both to restore morale and to rebuild the capabilities of America’s electronic intelligence in the wake of the massive breach. According to a national security staff member in the Obama White House, that job would take more than a decade. The NSA had failed to protect vital assets. This intelligence failure did not happen out of the blue.
Britain also discovered that some of its secret operations had been compromised after Snowden went to Moscow. According to a 2015 story in the Sunday Times of London, British intelligence had determined that Britain’s intelligence-gathering sources had been exposed to adversary services by documents that Snowden had stolen from the NSA in 2013. These documents had been provided to the NSA by the GCHQ. Unless such intelligence disasters were freak aberrations, it appeared to confirm General Alexander’s warning in 2014 that the NSA was "losing some of its capabilities, because they’re being disclosed to our adversaries."
Snowden’s supporters disputed this view. If only as an act of faith in Snowden’s personal integrity, they continued to believe his avowal to Senator Humphrey that he had acted to protect U.S. secrets by shielding them from adversary intelligence services after he took them abroad. They also continued to take him at his word when he said he had destroyed all the NSA documents before going to Russia. Despite such protestations of patriotic loyalty, U.S. intelligence officials could not so easily dismiss the possibility that the missing documents still existed. After all, a U.S. intelligence worker who is dedicated to protecting America’s secrets from its adversaries does not ordinarily steal them.
The NSA, the CIA, and the Department of Defense therefore had little choice but to assume the worst had happened: Russia and China had obtained access to the "keys to the kingdom." Whatever the extent of the actual damage, it was up to Alexander’s replacement, Admiral Michael Rogers, both to restore morale and to rebuild the capabilities of America’s electronic intelligence in the wake of the massive breach. According to a national security staff member in the Obama White House, that job would take more than a decade. The NSA had failed to protect vital assets. This intelligence failure did not happen out of the blue.
Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 186
9/29/16 5:51 PM
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019674
9/29/16 5:51 PM
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019674
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