The partial time-line that Joshua Foust has produced on the Snowden affair is incomplete and misleading. And he has published it without giving any of bloggers credit (including myself) who found various key parts of this time-line, i.e. LibertyLynx who revealed Jacob Appelbaum's June 25 speech containing his admission of travel to Hawaii in April 2013 at the same time Snowden was there; Streetwise Professor who put it into further context; and my further round-up of Appelbaum's data trail and my long-time analysis of his antics.
I think the Snowden affair has to be seen in a much larger context of 1) assault on the US by anarchist collective WikiLeaks and its collusion in hacking and disclosure of sensitive military and political files; 2) concerted and repeated attacks on US government, business and media organizations by radical anarchist hackers' movements (Anonymous, LulzSec) and arrest and trials of some members; 3) the case of Bradley Manning, the soldier who collaborated with WikiLeaks to leak US government files; 4) concerted attack on US Internet freedom programs, led by Evgeny Morozov and Jacob Appelbaum; 5) the rise and fall of Occupy Wall Street; 6) the failure of various US legislative initiatives to regulate intellectual and cybersecurity issues on the Internet (SOPA/PIPA, CISPA); 7) Obama's courting of Silicon Valley to win the 2012 elections and use of Silicon Valley's social media platforms and digital analytics to influence public opinion; 8) the campaign of Laura Poitras, Jacob Appelbaum and others against the NSA begun in 2012; 9) the revelation of PRISM program and flight to Hong Kong and Moscow with the help of WikiLeaks
This isn't to suggest a causal relationship among all the items in the timeline, although all students of hacking should look closely at the trajectory of WikiLeaks campaigns against the US, its collusion with the Russian government; Evgeny Morozov's concerted assault on US government Internet programs along with elements of Silicon Valley's social media platforms and WikiLeaks promotion of Snowden. Rather, viewing the timeline should prompt people to think of the context for one of the largest assaults on US security in history, which also coincides with Russia's bid to control the Internet internationally; its backing of WikiLeaks and the US hacker movement; Kremlin TV's propagandistic celebration of US hackers in Anonymous; WikiLeaks and Occupy; Russia's own crackdown on Internet freedom and "foreign agents" at home (mirroring its one-time championing of Western peace movements by the Soviet government even as it jailed pacifists at home).
If you think timelines linking these elements cast too wide a net, you haven't been paying attention to the news. Well, and as William Burroughs once famously put it, "Paranoia is having all the facts."
Timelines are helpful for things like seeing the long-term role of Evgeny Morozov in attacking US Internet freedom programs and Internet regulation against cyberattacks; in seeing the handing of Julian Assange of his own TV show by the Kremlin's TV in the context of an overall propaganda assault on the NSA by Democracy Now! and other left and liberal outlets; in tracking the rise and fall of legislation in the US congress to rein in Internet criminality and cyberattacks , hacker attacks, and Obama's condiminium with Silicon Valley tycoons and their help in his re-election.
American and British hackers have steadily been launching attacks on US web sites and servers, and in a few cases getting caught and being jailed and sentenced, although never to the draconian 25-year-sentences that overwrought tech media supporters imagine they will get -- they get suspended sentences, parole with psychiatric assistance, or sentences up to one-two years, in fact.
But by and large, their assault on the US government, business, nonprofits and media has been an unprecedented effort to undermine US cybersecurity that has occurred simultaneously with attacks by Russian and Chinese state-sponsored hacking on the US, and their crackdown on domestic human rights activist and opposition leaders.
Aaron Swartz who hacked JSTOR and MIT; Andrew Aurenheimer who hacked AT&T, the LulzSec gang who hacked Sony and Stratfor; Jeremy Hammond who attacked Stratfor; the Anonymous who hacked the websites of the CIA and Pentagon and the US Sentencing Commission; these are all part of a movement that has been battered a weakened US state under Obama, savaged by Chinese and also Russian hackers. The hacker movements have used both judicial and extra-judicial means to get its way -- a world in which states have maximum transparency (and are weak) and individuals have maximum secrecy (and thus the sovereign group reigns).
The hackers were also involved in a campaign against the Stop Online Piracy Act and related legislation and were ultimately successful with some Congress people such as Darrell Issa supporting them. The hacker networks and groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation also began to aggressively call for changes to the CFAA in light of some of the cases.
They also campaigned against CISPA, prefering to the rule of law the condominium Obama maintained with the major Internet companies who helped fund and secure his election through social media analysis and bundling of campaign donations. CISPA -- which might have regulated the ways in which Internet companies collect data and the use to which metadata is put to fight terrorism. Instread, ad-hoc arrangements took the place of clear legislation.
As hackers and "progressive" organizations attacked the US and weakened its ability to pass legislation to combat hacking, piracy, and other online crimes, they also half-heartedly and belatedly countered Russia and other bad actors in the international arena at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) but Russia, with long experience in controlling multi-lateral institutions through manipulations and vetos, prevailed.
So they failed, and Russia's big grab for power over the Internet at home and abroad was successful, up to a point. At home, Russia increasingly cracked down on the Internet as it also continued to undermine international institutions and programs for freedom.
And the timeline adds some support for my thesis that the Snowden affair helped to distract from Bradley Manning's confession of guilt and the exposes of his collusion with Assange in the trial as well as the decision to try him for assistance to the enemy -- all big losses for the hacker movement seeking to exonerate him. And Snowden's flight also distracted attention from Russia's internal crackdown on domestic critics and its own far more considerable efforts to control the Internet.
Whether that means the Kremlin's masters are just good at exploiting US weaknesses or whether they script and execute attacks in concert with WikiLeaks, Anonymous, and Occupy remains to be studied.
America has enemies from both domestic and foreign non-state and foreign state actors, some of whom show signs of collusion with each other; they are succeeding to alarming degrees; the pushback against them causes new backlashes and enables enemies to portray the US as "oppressive" and distract from the greater oppression of Russia, China, Iran and other authoritarian states; nevertheless we should keep fighting.
This is a work in progress; feel free to put corrections or additions in the comments. Hat-tip to David McDuff for additions.
February 10, 2010
WikiLeaks begins leaking US cables.
April 4, 2010
WikiLeaks publishes "Collateral Murder" video claiming to show US deliberately attacked journalists and civilians in Iraq. Government sources told Reuters the clip was authentic.
June 10, 2010
Wired publishes some of chat logs between Bradley Manning and Adrian Lamo.
July 17, 2010
Jacob Appelbaum speaks in the place of Julian Assange at the HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth) conference in New York City, claims to be chased by Dept. of Homeland Security agents. See more connections at HOPE website. Also see Quinn Norton's article about this conference.
September 16, 2010
Evgeny Morozov claims US State Department Haystack program endangers Iranian dissidents it meant to help and TechDirt piles on although State denies it has used it.
November 29, 2010
WikiLeaks publishes US State Department cables.
December 9, 2010
Evgeny Morozov essay in the New York Times praises Angela Davis as an organizer.
December 2010
Jacob Appelbaum starts secretive gig at University of Washington (hacking into electronics of cars) working with Ed Lazowska which sparks critical report in Seattle Weekly. Appelbaum says he didn't respond to questioning because it was the anniversary of his father's death.
January 11, 2011
February 5, 2011
Anonymous hacks security consulting firm HBGary which had been planning to infiltrate Anonymous and among other campaigns, discredit blogger Glenn Greenwald; Anonymous victory-dances over its successful defeat of plans to retaliate against Anonymous hack of PayPal, MasterCard, Amazon and others.
February 17, 2011
President Obama meets with Silicon Valley executives -- Eric Schmidt of Google; Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook et. al to discuss tech policies; these are the powerful donors and media influencers who help secure Obama's re-election in exchange for pledges of Internet freedom and immigration reform.
February 28, 2011
May 23, 2011
New Yorker publishes article about Thomas Drake, former NSA senior executive, charged with "unauthorized disclosure".
July 11, 2011
Wired publishes rest of Manning-Lamo chat logs revealing direct connection between Manning and Assange
September 17, 2011
Occupy Wall Street begins protest camp in Zucotti Park in New York City near September 16, 1920 anniversary of terrorist attack on Wall Street.
October 27, 2011
Jacob Appelbaum detained at Rejkavik Airport
October 25, 2012
December 3, 2011
@JPBarlow issues his call to arms to Anonymous on Twitter to fight back against Paypal and MasterCard blocking WikiLeaks: "The first serious infowar is now engaged. The field of battle is WikiLeaks. You are the troops. #WikiLeaks"
December 18, 2011
Manning revealed to have sent links to commanding officers of "Collateral Murder"
December 24, 2011
Hacker-initiated consumer boycott of GoDaddy domain registration company which supported SOPA
December 28, 2011
Anonymous attacks US security firm Stratfor, stealing emails and passwords including of government subscribers, shutting down the site for days while it is repaired, and using credit cards of subscribers both for forced charity donations and purchase of games and merchandise online.
February 12, 2012
President Obama signs executive order on cybersecurity even as he threatens to veto CISPA; Kremlin's RT reports ACLU approves.
February 12-17, 2012
Seattle Hackfest featuring Jacob Appelbaum notice on CSE;
March 15, 2012
Wired report on NSA's construction of "biggest spy center" in Utah.
April 2012
Edward Snowden starts stealing secrets while working at Dell.
April 3, 2012
Jacob Appelbaum 29th birthday retreat in Hawaii.
April 12, 2012
Jacob Appelbaum attacks US-sponsored circumvention programs to help Chinese and other dissidents that compete with his Tor; Evgeny Morozov gives a "bravo"on Twitter to Appelbaum for "ripping apart DC lobbyists favorite Internet tool: on Twitter; I criticize Appelbaum's obfuscation and false claims
April 13, 2012
Julian Assange gets his own talk show on Kremlin's RTV. The premier is a bit later than the originally-reported March launch.
April 15, 2012
Anonymous hacks North Korean web sites.
April 20, 2012
Interview by Amy Goodman of William Binney, "The Government Has Most of Your E-Mails"
April 20, 2012
Interview by Amy Goodman of Jacob Appelbaum on "NSA is Lying".
April 20, 2012
Jacob Appelbaum, Laura Poitras and William Binney appear at Whitney Museum to have a personal security teach-in, denounce NSA and call for destruction of NSA underground cables.
April 23, 2012
Evgeny Morozov once again attacks Hillary Clinton's Internet freedom programs; claims that along with Anonymous, she is "harming the cause" of the free Internet.
April 26, 2012
Interview by Amy Goodman of Jacob Appelbaum on CISPA, Surveillance and "Militarization of Cyberspace"
April 26, 2012
Jacob Appelbaum speaks at Occupy Wall Street forum in Tribeca
April 28, 2012
CISPA passes in the House of Representatives 287-127. Kremlin's RT features dissent to the bill.
May 2012
Howard A. Schmidt, White house official associated with opposition to CISPA steps down. Army General Keith Alexander of the National Security Agency applauds the appointment of Michael Daniel in his place.
May 22, 2012
Aaron Swartz's speech at Freedom to Connect conference in Washington, DC (see transcript), "How We Stopped Sopa".
July 19, 2012
Glenn Greenwald announces he is leaving Salon after five years and moving to the British Guardian.
August 2, 2012
CISPA fails to pass in test vote on Senate floor.
August 22, 2012
The New York Times publishes as an op-ed piece Laura Poitras's video "The Program" critiquing the NSA
November 5, 2012
Anonymous announce Guy Fawkes' day attack on PayPal's servers, claiming to steal 28,000 passwords; PayPal denies it was ever attacked
November 11, 2012
Barrack Obama wins his second presidential term to the delight of Google's Eric Schmidt with the help of Silicon Valley coders' Get out the Vote apps and data drilling
November 2012
Senate votes down Cybersecurity Act sponsored by Lieberman Collins; Kremlin's propaganda station RT campaigned incessantly against the bill, with American activist guests from CDT.
November 2012
Russia begins scheming its big grab at Internet control through International Telecommunications Union at the World Conference on International Telecommunication (See Wired State, Streetwise Professor) (less visible are simultaneous Russian attempts to gain control of human rights programs at OSCE and treaty bodies monitoring international human rights covenants at UN).
November 29, 2012
Release of Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet by Julian Assange, Jacob Appelbaum and Andy Muller-Maguhn.
December 2012
US loses vote at WCIT to Russia and other third-world Internet suppressers.
December 8, 2012
Newton massacre of schoolchildren by alleged autistic shooter prompts debate on violent video games and Internet incitement of violence; Lieberman calls for panel on violent video games.
December 10, 2012
Alec Ross, State Department's "innovation" director, put on 24-hour Twitter clearance
December 2012
Freedom of the Press Foundation announces program to fund WikiLeaks and other radical organizations. Founded by Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald, John Perry Barlow, Laura Poitras, Xeni Jardan and others.
December 12, 2013
Anonymous hacks notorious Westboro Church.
December 19, 2012
Forbes includes Jacob Appelbaum in its list of "30 Under 30" in tech.
December 27, 2012
Jacob Appelbaum's keynote "Not My Department" at Chaos Communications Conference in Berlin, calls on government computer programmers to defect from their "dark side" to join the radical hackers' movement; activist security consultant Bruce Schneier praises.
January 13, 2013
Aaron Swartz, facing prosecution for hacking JSTOR and MIT's computers, committs suicide.
January 25, 2013
A federal appeals court in Virginia ruled that the government can keep hidden its efforts to obtain internet users’ private information without a warrant. The appeal stems from the legal battle over the records of three Twitter users sought by the government in connection with its investigation into WikiLeaks: Birgitta Jonsdottir, Jacob Appelbaum and Rop Gonggrijp.
January 26, 2013
Anonymous hacks US Sentencing Commission and Supreme Court web pages in protest against Swartz case
February 2013
At least 25,000 people call for removal of Swartz's prosecutor, Steven Heymann. Berin Szoka and others call for amendment of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; raucous memorial service for Swartz on Capitol Hill; EFF also organizes memorial service.
January-March, 2013
Anonymous begins leaks in Steubenville, Ohio in the case of a teenager sexually assaulted by members of the football team, hacking accounts, exposing alleged perpetrators; even divulging the name of the victim, and harassing journalists and bloggers who criticize its vigilantism; uses (now-banned) Russian server to host pages; in the end Anonymous only delays and obstructs justice.
February 5, 2013
Russia hires Goldman, Sachs to improve image for investments.
February 28, 2013
Bradley Manning confesses his guilt in serving as a source for WikiLeaks.
March 2013
As South China Morning Post reports, Snowden deliberately takes a job at Booz, Allen Hamilton in Hawaii as an "infrastructure analyst" to hack more material.
March 3, 2013
Quinn Norton, ex-girlfriend of Aaron Swartz and ex-wife of Danny O'Brian (EFF), explains in an article in the Atlantic why she gave evidence against her lover to the grand jury, including about his hacker manifesto; her vague claims that his manifesto had multiple authors is contradicted by the others present at its drafting who gave him the credit.
March 5, 2013
Release of To Save Everything, Click Here, Evgeny Morozov's critique of Silicon Valley utopianists
March 6, 2013
Eric Holder says in response to Congressional probe that DOJ has done their jobs properly on Swartz prosecution.
March 2013
Alec Ross, Tweeter-in-Chief, leaves his job at the State Department to become a private tech consultant.
March 2013
Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, begins probe into Aaron Swartz case and CFAA reforms; earlier, Issa had campaigned against SOPA/PIPA.
March 14, 2013
Matthew Keys, social media editor for Retuers, indicted for colluding with Anonymous to hack his former employers the Los Angeles Times and a local Fox TV affiliate; there is an outcry of sorts but ultimately he is suspended, then fired.
March 2013
MIT continues to stall on Swartz case probe.
March 11, 2013
Bradley Manning's statement at his military trial, where he complained that neither the New York Times or the Washington Post got back to him when he tried to leak materials to them, and ultimately he went to WikiLeaks. Manning reiterates Assange's "Collateral Murder" propaganda and explains that Assange suppressed the files on the closure of an Iraqi printing press that Manning wanted to publicize -- the beginning of his decision to hack military servers.
March 20, 2013
Andrew Auernheimer ("Weev") sentenced to 41 months for hacking AT&T. Orin Kerr decides to defend him as part of campaign to reform CFAA.
March 21, 2013
Democracy Now! profile of Thomas Drake and how he beat NSA charges down of "unauthorized access" down to a misdemeanor.
March 23, 2013
Panel on WikiLeaks with Jacob Appelbaum, Joseph Farrell, Angela Richter, Judith Horchert
March 25, 2013
March 31, 2013
Edward Snowden begins work as an infrastructure analyst of the NSA with Booz, Allen Hamilton. He takes a week or longer business trip to unknown location (Maui? to meet Appelbaum and other hackers gathered for the Spring Break of Coders in Hawaii?).
April 1, 2013
Claims of "chaos" in Swedish prosecution of Assange but generally manufactured by WikiLeaks
April 4, 2013
Apple "bans journalism" according to developer Anil Dash (i.e. refuses to publish intifada app in Apple Store).
April 4, 2013
Anonymous hacks Turkish websites in protest against government crackdown on demonstrators.
April 13, 2013
The Magnitsky List is released by US government of Russian officials suspect of human rights violations.
May 1, 2013
Snowden and his girlfriend move out of their house in Hawaii where they had only been since Marcy.
May 8, 2013
Spencer Ackerman, national security blogger at Wired's Danger Room, joins the Guardian.
May 16, 2013
Barton Gelman of the Washington Post says he has his first direct contact with Snowden.
May 28, 2013
Jacob Appelbaum speaks on surveillance and privacy in Bangalore.
May 29, 2013
Julian Assange interview with Democracy Now! on WikiLeaks, Manning trial and NSA Surveillance; mentions NSA's program Stellar Wind "collecting all the calls" -- the "prefigurement" of the Snowden story.
June 3, 2013
Opening of trial of Bradley Manning, allegations of connections to Julian Assange
June 5, 2013
Glenn Greenwald publishes his first story in the Guardian about Verizon's collection of call metadata for the NSA.
June 6, 2013
Washington Post publishes bombshell story by Barton Gellman and Laura Poitras claiming nine Internet companies are mining data for NSA
June 7, 2013
Claims that Silicon Valley's reputation will take a hit due to PRISM expose.
Jun 7, 2013
Veteran Washington Post journalist Walter Pincus publishes article "Questions for Snowden" raising questions about links between Greenwald and WikiLeaks; he is forced to publish corrections about what he had claimed was Assange's May 29 preview of Greenwald's article and Greenwald's post on WikiLeaks, which was actually re-post. (He should have raised Appelbaum, Poitras and Binney previews of attacks prefiguring Snowden.)
June 8, 2013
Poitras and Greenwald stories on NSA begins to fall apart as tech press in particular tackle incorrect claims of "direct access" to Internet companies' servers; Washington Post bombshell story unravels forcing retractions.
June 10, 2013
Salon interviews Poitras, who says she first heard from Snowden in January 2013.
June 10, 2013
Greenwald attacks article by Walter Pincus which questions his possible collusion with WikiLeaks and Appelbaum.
June 10, 2013
Dan Baer, Hillary Clinton's main State Department staff person who worked on Internet freedom in Washington, DC at the Department of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor is exiled to Vienna to become US ambassador to OSCE.
June 11, 2013
Russia announces it is willing to consider giving Snowden asylum, while he is still in Hong Kong.
June 11, 2013
Blasphemy bill passes unanimously in Russian Duma along with ban on "propagandizing homosexuality"
June 13, 2013
Gawker exposes Anonymous KnightSec hacker in Steubenville and reveals many of Anonymous claims regarding the "rape crew" were fakes and hoaxes as originally reported by Lee Stranahan of Breitbart.com and on my blog.
June 25, 2013
Jacob Appelbaum speaks in Germany at Digitale Gesellschaft and provides counter-narrative to his presence in Hawaii at the time of Edward Snowden in April 2013.
June 26, 2013
Golos, leading elections watchdog, is suspended for refusing to register as 'foreign agent'
June 27, 2013
June 29, 2013
Russian WikiLeaks agent provocatuer Israel Shamir calls for public meeting with Snowden
July 6, 2013
Glenn Greenwald protests that Edward Snowden statement published by WikiLeaks was written exclusively by Snowden after skeptics' complaints
Cryptome article appears on public PGP keys made by Verax, the pseudonym used by Edward Snowden, in generation of keys in May and March 2013. Possible tie to Michael Vario?
July 7, 2013
Poitras and Appelbaum scheduled to appear at PS1 in New York to talk about the "surveillance state"; they cancel, Poitras sends video about Snowden, and Thomas Drake speaks in their place.
July 8, 2013
Interview of Snowden by Poitras and Appelbaum in Der Spiegel
July 11, 2013
July 12, 2013
Edward Snowden's staged meeting with human rights activists and lawyers at Sheremetyevo Airport with Russian security minders.
July 13, 2013
Genri Reznik and Anatoly Kucherena give RT interview saying "Snowden is not a phantom".
July 17, 2013
Testimony of Ex-NSA Agent Stewart A. Baker to House Committee on the Judiciary on Administration of FISA Authorities
July 16
Snowden's request for asylum formally submitted. Although it's actually just a hand-written letter handed to the Federal Migration Service ostensibly by his lawyer. Anatoly Kucherena says he will remain in transit zone while asylum request being processed
July 18, 2013
Judge declines to dismiss "aiding the enemy" charges in Manning trial.
July 21, 2013
Jacob Appelbaum article calling for encrypted communications in Ecuador's El Telegrafo
July 22, 2013
Discovery of Jacob Appelbaum speech placing him in Hawaii in April 2013 by LibertyLynx
July 17, 2013
July 18, 2013
Verdict in trial of anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny
July 18, 2013
Anonymous hacks Congressional constituent contact vendor.
July 22, 2013
Strange story -- probably fake -- of the power-ministry veterans' union claiming they received an email "with a North Carolina IP address" asking to join them, and they publicly offer help to Snowden with clothes and even "a tablet to contact his family".
July 23, 2013
Russia Today reports that Snowden has decided to remain in Russia.
July 23, 2013
Snowden gets whistle-blowing award in Germany
July 24, 2013
Article appears in Frankfurter Allgemeine by Evgeny Morozov, "Information Consumerism: The Price of Hypocrisy" blasting US for "hypocrisy" over Edward Snowden and condemning US Internet freedom programs
July 24, 2013
US Congress narrowly defeats bill by 217-205 to restrict NSA collection of phone records
July 24, 2013
US seeks clarity on Snowden status in Moscow; White House reiterates it does not see Snowden as "human rights activists"
July 27, 2013
Russia spins US request for clarification as "talks"
August 15, 2013
Russia media reports Snowden had an encrypted chat with his father, Lon Snowden.
August 15, 2013
Wall Street journal reports of disarray in the Snowden camp and splits between Lon Snowden and his lawyers, and Glenn Greenwald and WikiLeaks on the handling of Edward.
August 15, 2013
Statement supposedly from Snowden released by Michael Calderone of Huffington Post in which Snowden purportedly says his father and his lawyers don't represent him, and speaks of the "tragic vacuum of my father's emotional compromise for the sake of tabloid news".
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