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27 November 2013 Snowden Related Targets
About 552 pages of Snowden's documents have been published and a much smaller number of the documents from which the pages were excerpted. Many of the pages are redacted, some apparently by NSA-GCHQ, others by reporters and publishers. It is not clear by whom, how or when the excerpts and redactions were made. A variety of persons with legal, editorial and technical skills were involved. Many of the published accounts involve multiple reporters and associated sources. Multiple outlets are involved; 10 have published original pages (other accounts published only narratives, no pages).
Each published account would involve reporters; multiple editors; lawyers; media producers and staff; copy editors; proofreaders; researchers; slide and text formatters; graphic artists; redaction technicians; technology evaluators for networks and comsec; espionage consultants; NSA-GCHQ specialists; and other specialists suitable for each account. It might be estimated that at least 10 persons at each outlet were involved in the legal, editorial and technical review as well as preparation and publication of each page, or about 1,000 persons total, if duplication of services are ignored. Or half that to allow for duplication -- about 500. To enhance security and to minimize disclosures, each account might have changed personnel. If so, it might be estimated that 10 persons at each outlet were involved for each page, or 5,520 persons. However, reporters and senior personnel may have been retained to assure continuity, thus reducing the number to, say, 5 persons for each page, or 2,760 persons. Thus, an estimated range of 500 to 2,760 persons may have had access to the documents from which the pages were excerpted and redacted. Presumbably most of these persons are likely to have been required to sign non-disclosure agreements for the tasks. Others may have been already subject to NDAs as part of their job. It is expected that none of them were required to sign official secrecy agreements, although some may hold official secrecy clearances, or are bound by professional confidentiality requirements. According to reports the Snowden files are composed of about 50,000 documents (or pages, that is not clear), NY Times says "more than 50,000 shared by The Guardian", although the Director of NSA has claimed 200,000 were taken. Other reports, usually attributed to Glenn Greenwald, state that copies of the full collection provided to Greenwald and Laura Poitras is encrypted and stored in two or more places to be used as "insurance" against harm to Snowden, and will be published should Snowden be harmed. In one report Greenwald said Snowden no longer has any of the original material. In another report Greenwald said he does not know if Snowden has additional material. Other reports claim that the Greenwald-Poitras collection of about 50,000 files was confiscated by UK authorities from David Miranda's laptop, but the collection has not been fully decrypted. There have been no reports of leakage from the insurance stashes, the publication outlets or the various reported transmissions among them (except for the Miranda snatch by UKG), although there could be some which have not been disclosed, not known, were sold or bartered, or were stolen for future use. It is likely that intelligence and law enforcement agencies have made stringent efforts to access the documents by customarily secret burglary, bribery, barter, purchase, deception, co-optation. Those multiple persons and outlets who have had access, or suspected of access, are certain to have been targeted, some perhaps successfully persuaded to cooperate with promises of confidentiality, backed by threats if cooperation is refused -- a standard coercive means of authorities. While Edward Snowden is knowledgeable about counter-espionage and likely advised his initial correspondents, who in turn advised successive cooperators, usually these counter-operations are not revealed, but hints of them are leaked to discourage participation.
Beyond that, it is customary to foment disputes and disagreements among competing
publications, reporters, opinionators, experts, the spying industry and
consumers, along with threats against families, friends and employers, as
now occurring, to rattle and pressure targets to consider cooperating with
authorities, including use of rewards -- monetary and career -- for
informants.
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