Snowden Pilfered Coworker's Password To Access Data

Edward Snowden's breach of NSA data prompted a sweeping internal investigation into how he managed to pull off his mission. According to an agency memo acquired by the folks at NBC News, Snowden managed to access some of the data in part by stealing one of his coworker's passwords. That coworker has since been stripped of his security clearance and has resigned.

According to NBC News, its document also shows a contractor and an active member of the military being banned from NSA facilities due to being "implicated" in having done things that could have ended up giving Snowden access to information. Their employers are now reportedly reviewing their (presumably employment) "status".

The memo's account isn't terribly detailed, according to NBC, but going by the information it does detail, Snowden got one of his civilian contractor coworkers to enter his password "onto Snowden's computer terminal. Unbeknownst to the civilian, Mr. Snowden was able to capture the password, allowing him even greater access to classified information."

This is the first time something of a more official nature has surfaced on the matter, but not the first time this song has been sung. Back in November — the same month the memo indicates the coworker was stripped of his security clearance — anonymous sources told Reuters that Snowden had tricked multiple coworkers into providing their log in details, and that "a handful" of NSA employees have since been "removed from their assignments."

Following that accussation, Snowden denied stealing his coworkers passwords during the Ask Snowden online question-and-answer session that took place last month.

SOURCE: NBC News