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Ask HN: When did Snowden become the voice of reason of all things InfoSec?
Granted the guy had some access to 3 letter agencies, but honestly, most of what he did was just grant us access to that info through leaks and whistleblowing. Now it seems he is a demigod of information security.
- dalke 11y agoI think you are asking two related questions. A "voice of reason" is "a person who influences others to act sensibly." Bruce Schneier is a voice of reason in information security, with frequent op-ed pieces and interviews, so Snowden is not the only person in that role. I'll interpret your question as: how does "a voice" become "the voice above the rest", and thus a person become a "demigod"? I have no exact answer, but I can suggest a few things related to how news is organized and presented. First is the lure of secret knowledge. Pay attention to the news and you'll hear code phrases like "unnamed White House official". These are almost always deliberate, officially sanctioned leaks, structured to make it sound secret, and thus more influential. Look at the various agencies (CIA, FBI, etc.) who declare that they have the 'real' information, which is so dangerous that they have to keep it secret, and so dangerous that we need to give them carte blanche. In a related point, this is also a reason why ex-senior officials, and ex-high-level military officers, etc. get to be on the news; they have or had access to this secret information and get to be the gatekeepers/interpreters for us of what's "really" going on. Second is the news cycle. With an infodump, the news gets old. After a month or two the official response is "that's all behind us; we need to look to the future". Look at Wikileaks for an example. But by stringing the document release over years, it's always fresh news - fresh secret news. Which means there may need to be a new government response, which makes it a new news story. This keeps people like Snowden in the news. (You wrote "just grant us access"; my distinction is that his leak continues to grant access rather than granted access.) Third is the ability to sound reasonable and look normal. Public speaking is hard. Snowden manages to make statements, answer questions, be consistent, and keep on topic much better than most people I know. This is the sort of person that newspeople prefer to talk to, because it makes their job much easier - they know what they are going to get, roughly how long it will take to get it, and it won't require extra work on their side. The "look normal" part is important because it's an easy thing to get pidgeon-holed as someone who only does something for the attention, and looking different puts you part-way into that hole.
- staunch 11y agoName one person with more insight and experience that is also willing to speak publicly.
- jotux 11y agoIt's more an issue of who the media covers. One tweet from snowden generates an article on a dozen news websites instantly.
- tptacek 11y agoPretty much every reputable software security professional?
- dalke 11y agoBruce Schneier. Which is why this question shouldn't be "the voice of reason" but "the foremost recognized voice of reason".
- atmosx 11y agoIMHO it doesn't matter. Judging Snowden by his computer skills is like judging Ghandi for his ability in court[1]. Snowden is a symbol for freedom of speech, privacy and democracy worldwide, the rest are small details. Now, to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, his speeches and analysis on various topics is extremely sound. I am astonished by his composure, depth and well argued answers. He technical prowess shows-off IMNHO, I've never seen an answer that shows lack of technical ability or understanding. Also as another commentator pointed out he is the only one we know who comes from the inside for sure: When he says that your 6-letter password is like having none when the NSA is after you, I take his word for it. [1] Ghandi was a barrister-at-law.