Snowden used cheap tools to outwit the NSA | VentureBeat | Business | by Dean Takahashi - Snowden used web crawler software to “scrape” data from the NSA’s computer networks, according to an unidentified senior intelligence official interviewed by the newspaper.

It's hard not to like Edward Snowden. He's incredibly intelligent and articulate, and his actions are logically justified based on his understanding of the US Constitution. Even though I believe the NSA's programs are essential to the overall health of the nation (as long as we have people like Qaddafi running entire countries, foreign intelligence program is vital), Snowden has pointed out many activities which are clearly abusing the secrecy of the organization.

Someone like Snowden would make an excellent choice to run the NSA. Someone who could design effective programs that would serve the mission of the organization without corrupting the relationship to the populace it was designed to serve. Someone who understood the technology and would be able to identify and anticipate abuses.

I suppose I'm a liberal. I also like Noam Chomsky.

Labels: security