U.S. Expects Fallout from Snowden Leaks for Years to Come

According to the Associated Press (AP) (June 4, 2018) "Whistleblower or traitor, leaker or public hero?  National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden blew the lid off U.S. government surveillance methods five years ago, but intelligence chiefs complain that revelations from the trove of classified documents he disclosed are still trickling out.  That includes recent reporting on a mass surveillance program run by close U.S. ally Japan and on how the NSA targeted Bitcoin users to gather intelligence to combat narcotics and money laundering.

The Intercept, an investigative publication with access to Snowden documents, published stories on both subjects.  The top U.S. counterintelligence official said journalists have released only about 1% taken by the 34-year-old American, now living in exile in Russia.  “This past year, we had more international, Snowden-related documents and breaches than ever,” Bill Evanina, who directs the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said at a recent conference.  “Since 2013, when Snowden left, there have been thousands of articles around the world with really sensitive stuff that’s been leaked.”

Moscow has resisted U.S. pressure to extradite Snowden, who faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years. From exile, Snowden often does online public speaking and has been active in developing tools that reporters can use, especially in authoritarian countries, to detect whether they are under surveillance."