Former agent Edward Snowden speaks after 10 years in exile… “I have no regrets”

Edward Snowden, who leaked CIA documents in 2013 while working for the US National Security Agency (NSA), warned that surveillance technology is much more advanced and intrusive today.

The sensational name, in an interview for the 10th anniversary of his revelations, said that he does not regret what he has done, noting that positive changes are taking place thanks to this.

“Technology has evolved extremely effectively. “Considering what we saw in 2013 and the capabilities of governments today, 2013 seems like a piece of cake,” she said.

Snowden has raised concerns not only about the dangers posed by governments and technology, but also about commercially available video surveillance cameras, facial recognition, artificial intelligence and spyware like Pegasus used against dissidents and journalists.

The former agent said: “We were confident that the government would not destroy us. But he did. We trusted that tech companies would not take advantage of us. But they did. It will happen again, because that is the nature of power.”

IS CONCERNED ABOUT TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Snowden has been in exile in Russia since 2013 after fleeing Hong Kong, where he handed over tens of thousands of classified documents to journalists. Although many people accused him of being in Russia, especially with the occupation of Ukraine, Snowden’s only alternative other than imprisonment in the US was to stay in that country.

In recent years, Snowden has also reduced his relations with the press. The fact that the sensational name, who has two young children, wants to protect the family from him is one of the reasons for this distant relationship. However, he continued to meet with three journalists who had met him in Hong Kong. It’s been 10 years since Snowden was revealed as the source of the leaks. And he says that he does not regret it despite all the problems he has experienced in these 10 years.

In fact, Snowden sees the widespread use of end-to-end encryption as one of the positive results of the leaks. Snowden said that end-to-end encryption was a pipe dream back in 2013 when the story unfolded: “The vast majority of global Internet traffic circulated electronically naked. Now, it’s a rare sight.”

But Snowden remains concerned about technological advances: “The idea that rainbows and unicorns will appear the day after the 2013 revelations is unrealistic. It is an ongoing process. And we’re going to have to work on that for the rest of our lives, in our children’s lives and beyond.”