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>He was essentially fired from the employ of the CIA No, he was not: "The C.I.A did not file any report on Snowden indicating that it suspected he was trying

>He was essentially fired from the employ of the CIA No, he was not: "The C.I.A did not file any report on Snowden indicating that it suspected he was trying to break into classified computer files to which he did not have authorized access while he was employed at the C.I.A., nor was he returned home from an overseas assignment because of such concerns," Todd Ebitz, an agency spokesman, said in the statement. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/12/us/cia-disputes-early-suspicions-on-snowden.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/12/us/cia-disputes-early-susp...

Nrsolis 13y ago
Did you read that article? I did when it was first published. Are we really at the point where we take the word of an "agency spokesman" and not the sourcing of the journalists who quoted two unnamed sources to verify the story?
- intslack 13y ago
  Yes, I did read the article. Here is Snowden's account: >Mr. Snowden said that in 2008 and 2009, he was working in Geneva as a telecommunications information systems officer [...] He began pushing for a promotion, but got into what he termed a “petty e-mail spat” in which he questioned a senior manager’s judgment. >Several months later, he was writing his annual self-evaluation when he discovered flaws in the software of the C.I.A.’s personnel Web applications. He warned his supervisor, but his boss advised him to drop the matter. After a technical team also brushed him off, his boss finally agreed to allow him to test the system to prove that it was flawed. >He did so by adding some code and text “in a nonmalicious manner” to his evaluation document that showed that the vulnerability existed, he said. His immediate supervisor signed off on it and sent it through the system, but a more senior manager — the man Mr. Snowden had challenged earlier — was furious and filed a critical comment in Mr. Snowden’s personnel file. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/world/snowden-says-he-took-no-secret-files-to-russia.html?pagewanted=2 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/world/snowden-says-he-took...
  - Nrsolis 13y ago
    Riiiiight. So the local IT guy goes looking for vulnerabilities, finds them, SAYS he tried to alert people, then runs an EXPLOIT, and he's mad because he got a ding in his personnel file? He did know that he was working for an intelligence agency, right? In what world is it acceptable to run an exploit on your company machines if it's not your job to find those exploits? A little Occams's Razor goes a long way.
    - intslack 13y ago
      I'm not going to get into a discussion about whether he should've rocked the boat or not. My only point was that your assertions earlier in the thread were shaky, at best, especially considering Snowden's corroboration. Or is there any other evidence besides the two unnamed sources who contradict the official CIA account?
      - Nrsolis 13y ago
        And my point is that you can't take Snowden's assertions at face value. His behavior doesn't comport with someone who was a patriot and found himself facing a difficult decision to disclose. It's far closer to that of a "mole".
        intslack 13y ago
        >And my point is that you can't take Snowden's assertions at face value. Good thing we aren't taking them at face value, seeing as the CIA spokesman lightly corroborates his account rather than your assertion that he was fired for attempting to access and steal classified materials at the CIA. And while we're on the subject of "moles," neither the internal NSA investigation nor the FBI investigation has found anything supporting your conspiracy theory to date.
        Nrsolis 13y ago
        What conspiracy theory? Do you really think that if there was real evidence that a foreign power was involved that the administration would be up-front with that information? What if the whole purpose of the action is to make them guess if the Russians and/or Chinese have copies of the documents? Not knowing for sure what the exposure is fuels the nightmares of the whole NSA. What if the Russians and Chinese know EVERYTHING?

Nrsolis 13y ago

Did you read that article? I did when it was first published. Are we really at the point where we take the word of an "agency spokesman" and not the sourcing of the journalists who quoted two unnamed sources to verify the story?

intslack 13y ago
Yes, I did read the article. Here is Snowden's account: >Mr. Snowden said that in 2008 and 2009, he was working in Geneva as a telecommunications information systems officer [...] He began pushing for a promotion, but got into what he termed a “petty e-mail spat” in which he questioned a senior manager’s judgment. >Several months later, he was writing his annual self-evaluation when he discovered flaws in the software of the C.I.A.’s personnel Web applications. He warned his supervisor, but his boss advised him to drop the matter. After a technical team also brushed him off, his boss finally agreed to allow him to test the system to prove that it was flawed. >He did so by adding some code and text “in a nonmalicious manner” to his evaluation document that showed that the vulnerability existed, he said. His immediate supervisor signed off on it and sent it through the system, but a more senior manager — the man Mr. Snowden had challenged earlier — was furious and filed a critical comment in Mr. Snowden’s personnel file. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/world/snowden-says-he-took-no-secret-files-to-russia.html?pagewanted=2 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/world/snowden-says-he-took...
- Nrsolis 13y ago
  Riiiiight. So the local IT guy goes looking for vulnerabilities, finds them, SAYS he tried to alert people, then runs an EXPLOIT, and he's mad because he got a ding in his personnel file? He did know that he was working for an intelligence agency, right? In what world is it acceptable to run an exploit on your company machines if it's not your job to find those exploits? A little Occams's Razor goes a long way.
  - intslack 13y ago
    I'm not going to get into a discussion about whether he should've rocked the boat or not. My only point was that your assertions earlier in the thread were shaky, at best, especially considering Snowden's corroboration. Or is there any other evidence besides the two unnamed sources who contradict the official CIA account?
    - Nrsolis 13y ago
      And my point is that you can't take Snowden's assertions at face value. His behavior doesn't comport with someone who was a patriot and found himself facing a difficult decision to disclose. It's far closer to that of a "mole".
      - intslack 13y ago
        >And my point is that you can't take Snowden's assertions at face value. Good thing we aren't taking them at face value, seeing as the CIA spokesman lightly corroborates his account rather than your assertion that he was fired for attempting to access and steal classified materials at the CIA. And while we're on the subject of "moles," neither the internal NSA investigation nor the FBI investigation has found anything supporting your conspiracy theory to date.
        Nrsolis 13y ago
        What conspiracy theory? Do you really think that if there was real evidence that a foreign power was involved that the administration would be up-front with that information? What if the whole purpose of the action is to make them guess if the Russians and/or Chinese have copies of the documents? Not knowing for sure what the exposure is fuels the nightmares of the whole NSA. What if the Russians and Chinese know EVERYTHING?