HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019520.jpg
1.61 MB
Extraction Summary
4
People
5
Organizations
3
Locations
3
Events
3
Relationships
3
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Book page / congressional exhibit
File Size:
1.61 MB
Summary
This document is page 32 from the book 'How America Lost Its Secrets' (likely by Edward Jay Epstein), stamped as a House Oversight exhibit. It details Edward Snowden's employment with Dell in 2009, his work on the NSA backup system EPICSHELTER, and his discovery of security flaws regarding system administrator access. The text also references his lack of academic credits from UMUC and compares the role of 'rogue system administrators' to the ideology of Julian Assange.
People (4)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Snowden | System Administrator |
Subject of the text; worked for Dell at NSA; enrolled at UMUC.
|
| Stevens | Assistant Registrar of UMUC |
Interviewed by the author in 2016 regarding Snowden's enrollment.
|
| Julian Assange | Hacktivist |
Mentioned as adopting the battle cry for sysadmins to leak documents.
|
| Karl Marx | Historical Figure |
Referenced in comparison to Assange's call to action.
|
Organizations (5)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| UMUC |
University of Maryland University College; where Snowden enrolled in summer 2009.
|
|
| Dell |
Technology company; Snowden's employer assigned to NSA contract.
|
|
| NSA |
National Security Agency; client for Dell's EPICSHELTER project.
|
|
| WikiLeaks |
Organization mentioned by Assange for receiving classified documents.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by the Bates stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT'.
|
Timeline (3 events)
October 2009
Relationships (3)
In October 2009, Dell assigned Snowden a job...
Snowden a job in which he had direct access to the NSA's computers.
Stevens... who I spoke to at the base in 2016...
Key Quotes (3)
"Sysadmins of the world, unite."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019520.jpg
Quote #1
"I actually recommended they [the NSA] move to two-man control for administrative access back in 2009."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019520.jpg
Quote #2
"A whistleblower could use these things, but so could a spy."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019520.jpg
Quote #3
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,405 characters)
32 | HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS
Stevens, the assistant registrar of UMUC, who I spoke to at the base
in 2016, told me that the program in 2009 did not provide gradu-
ate courses in computer sciences. According to the program's record,
while Snowden had enrolled as a student in the summer of 2009, he
received neither any credits nor a certificate.
in 2016, told me that the program in 2009 did not provide gradu-
ate courses in computer sciences. According to the program's record,
while Snowden had enrolled as a student in the summer of 2009, he
received neither any credits nor a certificate.
In October 2009, Dell assigned Snowden a job in which he had
direct access to the NSA's computers. He was now a system adminis-
trator, which is essentially a tech-savvy repairman. Dell was working
on a backup system code-named EPICSHELTER. For this contract,
Dell was transferring large chunks of data from the NSA's main
computers in Maryland to backup drives in Japan so that the system
could be quickly restored if there was a communications interrup-
tion. Because most of the classified data was in its encrypted form, it
had little value to any outside party. Snowden's job was to maintain
the proper functioning of computers, but as a system administrator
he also had privileges to call up unencrypted files. He sat in front of a
computer screen all day looking for any problems in the transferring
of files to backup servers.
direct access to the NSA's computers. He was now a system adminis-
trator, which is essentially a tech-savvy repairman. Dell was working
on a backup system code-named EPICSHELTER. For this contract,
Dell was transferring large chunks of data from the NSA's main
computers in Maryland to backup drives in Japan so that the system
could be quickly restored if there was a communications interrup-
tion. Because most of the classified data was in its encrypted form, it
had little value to any outside party. Snowden's job was to maintain
the proper functioning of computers, but as a system administrator
he also had privileges to call up unencrypted files. He sat in front of a
computer screen all day looking for any problems in the transferring
of files to backup servers.
The work was highly repetitive and exceedingly dull. Snowden
found time to search for anomalies in the system, and he claimed
to have spotted a major flaw in the security system in late 2009. He
discovered that a rogue system administrator in Japan could steal
secret data without anyone else's realizing that it had been stolen.
Snowden brought that to the attention of his superiors, as he later
said.
found time to search for anomalies in the system, and he claimed
to have spotted a major flaw in the security system in late 2009. He
discovered that a rogue system administrator in Japan could steal
secret data without anyone else's realizing that it had been stolen.
Snowden brought that to the attention of his superiors, as he later
said.
The emergence of a rogue system administrator was not that far-
fetched in 2009. Hacktivists such as Julian Assange had adopted the
battle cry "Sysadmins of the world, unite." Instead of asking them
to "throw off their chains," as Marx did, he asked them to send clas-
sified documents about secret government activity to the WikiLeaks
site. Snowden, as a "sys admin," was aware he had the power to do
so. He recalled in Moscow in 2014, "I actually recommended they
[the NSA] move to two-man control for administrative access back
in 2009." To make his point even clearer, he added, "A whistleblower
could use these things, but so could a spy." Not without irony,
Snowden became that rogue system administrator some three years
fetched in 2009. Hacktivists such as Julian Assange had adopted the
battle cry "Sysadmins of the world, unite." Instead of asking them
to "throw off their chains," as Marx did, he asked them to send clas-
sified documents about secret government activity to the WikiLeaks
site. Snowden, as a "sys admin," was aware he had the power to do
so. He recalled in Moscow in 2014, "I actually recommended they
[the NSA] move to two-man control for administrative access back
in 2009." To make his point even clearer, he added, "A whistleblower
could use these things, but so could a spy." Not without irony,
Snowden became that rogue system administrator some three years
Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 32 9/30/16 11:09 AM
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