Edward Snowden successfully assumed the electronic identities of top NSA officials to access some of the secret National Security Agency documents he leaked, Richard Esposito, Matthew Cole and Robert Windrem of NBC News report.

“Every day, they are learning how brilliant [Snowden] was,” a former U.S. official with knowledge of the case told NBC. “This is why you don’t hire brilliant people for jobs like this. You hire smart people. Brilliant people get you in trouble.”

The 30-year-old’s role as a “system administrator” meant that he was able to access NSAnet, the agency’s intranet, using those user profiles and without leaving any signature.

An official told NBC that the NSA identified several instances in which the elite NSA-trained hacker impersonated officials, and that the spy agency’s forensic investigation is “trying to figure out which higher level officials Snowden impersonated online to access the most sensitive documents.”

His role as system administrator also meant that he had the ability to download files from his computer to an external storage device — Snowden reportedly downloaded tens of thousands of classified documents onto thumb drives before flying from Hawaii to Hong Kong on May 20.

“The damage, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a 12,” a former intelligence official told NBC.

On Monday Esposito and Cole reported that Snowden functioned as a “ghost user,” meaning that he was able “look at any file he wanted, and his actions were largely unaudited.”

Last week Michael Isikoff, Cole, and Esposito reported that the NSA is “overwhelmed” does not know the full extent of the tens of thousands of documents the former NSA contractor took from its system.

Snowden is currently living in Russia.

Source: Business Insider


Cudy Model P5 5G NSA & SA NR AX3000 WiFi 6 Router P/N P5 - Dual Nano Sim Slots picture

Cudy Model P5 5G NSA & SA NR AX3000 WiFi 6 Router P/N P5 - Dual Nano Sim Slots

$239.99



NuPhy Shiokaze nSA Dye-sub PBT keycaps - low profile, 113 keys, Air60/75/96 picture

NuPhy Shiokaze nSA Dye-sub PBT keycaps - low profile, 113 keys, Air60/75/96

$29.00



Cudy New 5G NR SA NSA AX3000 WiFi 6 CPE Router, AX3000 Dual SIM 5G Cell Router picture

Cudy New 5G NR SA NSA AX3000 WiFi 6 CPE Router, AX3000 Dual SIM 5G Cell Router

$314.99



Dell SonicWall NSA 4600 Firewall Network Security Appliance 1RK26-DA3 picture

Dell SonicWall NSA 4600 Firewall Network Security Appliance 1RK26-DA3

$44.99



Dell Sonicwall NSA 3600 1RK26-0A2 Network Security Appliance - Transfer Ready picture

Dell Sonicwall NSA 3600 1RK26-0A2 Network Security Appliance - Transfer Ready

$169.98



SonicWall NSA 2600 01-SSC-3860 1.9 Gbps Firewall - TRANSFER READY picture

SonicWall NSA 2600 01-SSC-3860 1.9 Gbps Firewall - TRANSFER READY

$189.95



1RK14-053 SonicWall NSA 2400 Firewall Security Appliance C-09231 W/ Ear Brackets picture

1RK14-053 SonicWall NSA 2400 Firewall Security Appliance C-09231 W/ Ear Brackets

$44.99



SonicWall NSA 2650 Network Security Appliance Firewall 1RK38-0C8 picture

SonicWall NSA 2650 Network Security Appliance Firewall 1RK38-0C8

$269.00



SonicWALL NSA 3600 Network Security/Firewall Appliance Dell/01-SSC-3850 picture

SonicWALL NSA 3600 Network Security/Firewall Appliance Dell/01-SSC-3850

$258.00



Sonic Wall NSA 2400MX 24-Port Network Security Appliance RK16-076 picture

Sonic Wall NSA 2400MX 24-Port Network Security Appliance RK16-076

$350.00