Writing 111
Introduction
This is a study about the problems related to Snowden’s actions. The study seeks to determine the implications of the actions of Snowden of letting out highly sensitive security information to the public. Snowden is a former national security agent. He has been dealing with the spying mission of the USA whose main purpose is to ensure that there is security and independence within the nation. Snowden became a whistleblower of the actions of the NSIS and related organs. Through disclosing the highly delicate information, the world has been notified in America’s carefully guarded secrets as the country has been forced to face the shame and insecurity that comes with it.
America has had to answer very many questions pertaining to the revealed secrets. This study will identify the challenges associated with Snowden’s actions, the relevance of his actions and the effects to America and the security agencies within the nation. The study seeks to prove that sufficient knowledge has been acquired for the completion of the proposed project. The study also provides ideas for sorting out the issue. Theoretical and methodological ways are outlined to answer the research question.
Thesis
The implications of Snowden action’s of leaking highly sensitive security information to the public.
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to determine challenges related to Snowden’s actions, relevance of his actions to the present society and the effects of his actions to America and the American security agencies. The study also seeks to give recommendations for the prevailing problem.
Research Questions
This research seeks to answer who Snowden is, the implications of his actions to America and the world at large, how America has dealt with the issue and the possible solutions to the prevailing challenge.
Literature review
Edward Joseph Snowden is perceived to be the world’s significant whistleblower in the contemporary times. Born as a second child to Elizabeth and Lon in 1983, Snow was born in Elizabeth’s City ion North Carolina. Both his father and his grandfather were Coast guards, while majority of his clansmen were either law enforcement officers or military men. His mother was a lawyer. Edward Snowden is a young American IT specialist who previously served in the CIA and the NSA (Carroll, 14). Snowden studied computer science in Maryland, in Ann Arundel College. Thereafter, he served in the Armed Forces of the United States, where both his legs were broken when training. He left the service before completing his military training. He served in NSA by protecting the secret object on the Maryland university territory (Volz, 6). Snowden also served in CIA, before retiring and beginning to work with consulting companies which incorporated NSA, initially in Dell and after that in Booz Allen Hamilton. His revelations have led to investigations by a given presidential commission and various committees. There is immense pressure on the diplomatic relations between America and nations such as Germany and Brazil. This is because Snowden had mentioned that America through NSA had spied on Chancellor Merkel’s mobile phone and President Dilma’s phone. He became famous for giving the newspapers, The Guardian and The Washington Post, information concerning security information on the American surveillance programs. He thereby became a wanted criminal. The charges against him include the crime of espionage and stealing of government property. Snowden escaped to Hong Kong then to Russia. According to Snowden, whatever the NSA is doing is injustice to the common person (Carroll, 10). His desire is to reveal the truth to the common person.
The main reason why Snowden engaged in such dangerous activities was to show how America had gone abroad to protect itself from her real and imagined enemies. There was panic in the intelligence community while the Obama administration had to be defensive for a long time. These repercussions are to be felt for a very long time. This is because there have to be great changes in the electronic surveillance in Washington. America will also never defend to itself against its enemies as it used to. The NSA had the ability of collecting mobile phone information within America. This has been through the interception of communications in the fiber optic cables. They also have the ability of going through the internet games, phone-apps, and every digital world. Their main purpose is to look for any suspicious activity. When the NSA face any challenge, they apply the encryption platforms or create weaknesses to get to the information passed through the phones. This has further challenged the main presumptions of personal privacy, thereby leading to debates as to what to safeguard for the nation and that which is safeguarded by the constitution. The common man is left with the challenge of whether it is possible to keep a secret. This is because the internet and the present technologies have been assumed to be very private. However, these are the same tools used to control not just a person but also the entire society. The tech community is still developing newer and better ways of securing the society (Andrews, Burrough & Ellison, 16).
Methodology
The applied method used in collecting information for the study has mainly been secondary sources of data collection. This has been the use of books, articles, digital sources such as newspaper news, website information, and peer-reviewed journals. The collected information was analyzed and included within the study for proof of the required data.
Discussions
For a long time the common person has desired to be independent. This is due to the significance of self-sufficiency and insubordination (Brunsma, 103). Presently, there are place where the residents lack this virtue. This is due to the historical past that has highlighted the weaknesses of monarchies. This proves that people desire to rule themselves and achieve things not through force but through counseling. From the gathered information, it is true that information on Snowden has gone viral. So many people have been interested in the leaked information and their security.
Snowden has enjoyed comfort, a stable and good income but rejected all that as a price for straightforwardness. There were diverse reactions. Some referred to him as a hero while others called him a traitor. Germany terminated all the upcoming contracts with USA which prohibited mutual spying. Brazil and Spain, among other countries demanded for explanations from the American government on their activity over their territory. In America, there were many followers. For instance, the television series mentioned him while other movies were created out of his life.
Among the most significant things in life is the issue of personal security. No one desires to be uncovered. This is the reason for embracing the upcoming technologies. It is advisable for the government to trace people’s movements in order to keep up with the present terroristic actions and in maintenance of peace. However, the government needs to inform the public of the measures undertaken in meeting this need. Other governments also need to leave the problems of the affected countries for their governments, unless they are to help them in solving out these issues (Epstein, 12). There is also need for the government to protect this right and personal space. This is because everyone in this world has the right and freedom to enjoy their privacy and no one can take this away from them. This is what the present worlds is emphasizing.
Recommendations
Before the technical community comes up with better security on the mobile devices, it is advisable to switch back to the casual mobile phones for safety. Since Snowden never provided all the information to the public, he is still a very dangerous person to the technical team and to the security agencies. There is therefore need for the relevant bodies to employ him as a computer expert. This is to prevent any other enemy country from attracting him and releasing other critical information. The technical team has to come up with better ways of enhancing their security systems. The American security agency ought to come up with better ways of ensuring that their information remains with the trusted few individuals who have passed the confidence and dependence test. This is to prevent the delicate information from getting on the wrong hands.
Conclusions
The study was about the problems related to Snowden’s actions. The study has determined the implications of the actions of Snowden of letting out highly sensitive security information to the public. Snowden became a whistleblower of the actions of the NSIS and related organs. Through disclosing the highly delicate information, the world has been notified in America’s carefully guarded secrets as the country has been forced to face the shame and insecurity that comes with it. America has had to answer very many questions pertaining to the revealed secrets. The study has identified the challenges associated with Snowden’s actions, the relevance of his actions and the effects to America and the security agencies within the nation.
Works Cited
Andrews, Suzanna, Burrough, Bryan & Ellison, Sarah. The Snowden Saga: A Shadowland of Secrets and Light: Vanity Fair. May 2014. Web. 9 March 2015
Brunsma, L. David. Handbook of Sociology and Human Rights. Boulder. CO: Paradigm, 2013. Print
Carroll, Rory. Snowden used Simple Technology to mine NSA Computer Networks: The Guardian. 9 February 2014. Web. 9 March 2015
Epstein, J. Edwards. Revisiting Snowden’s Hong Kong Getaway: The Wall Street Journal. 29 June 2014. Web. 9 March 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/edwards-jay-epstein- revisiting-snowden’s-hong-kong-getaway-1404075875
Volz, Dustin. Edward Snowden just got yet another New Job: National Journal. 19 February 2014. Web. 9 March 2015