China and Russia had Snowden docs before he took them - Schneier

'Both China and Russia had access to all the files that Snowden took well before Snowden took them - because they've penetrated NSA networks'

The Edward Snowden documents were in China and Russia's possession before he even took them and went on the run, believes renowned security specialist Bruce Schneier.

Writing in Wired, the cryptographer, entrepreneur and former chief technology officer of BT Counterpane, part of telecoms giant BT, added that the documents were already "certainly" in the possession of China and Russia - but not due to Snowden, who has become a convenient scapegoat for security services' failings.

Schneier was writing in response to last Sunday's widely panned Sunday Times lead story.

"It's a terrible article, filled with factual inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims about both Snowden's actions and the damage caused by his disclosure", writes Schneier.

He continues: "Snowden has claimed that he gave nothing to China while he was in Hong Kong, and brought nothing to Russia. He has said that he encrypted the documents in such a way that even he no longer has access to them, and that he did this before the US government stranded him in Russia. I have no doubt he did as he said, because A) it's the smart thing to do, and B) it's easy."

The US National Security Agency (NSA) is not the only intelligence agency with an extremely high level of IT know-how and a long-standing capability of breaking into networks and computers, and exfiltrating documents, Schneier says.

"Last week, we learned that Israel had successfully hacked a wide variety of networks, including that of a major computer antivirus company. We also learned that China successfully hacked US government personnel databases. And earlier this year, Russia successfully hacked the White House's network," he explains.

More seriously, he continues, the intelligence agencies of both China and Russia have almost certainly penetrated the NSA networks from which Snowden was easily able to take the top-secret files, and he says it's almost inconceivable that GCHQ is not riddled with security holes.

"I believe that both China and Russia had access to all the files that Snowden took well before Snowden took them because they've penetrated the NSA networks where those files reside," Schneier writes.

He continues: "In general, it's far easier to attack a network than it is to defend the same network. This isn't a statement about willpower or budget; it's how computer and network security work today...

"In this kind of environment, we simply have to assume that even our classified networks have been penetrated. Remember that Snowden was able to wander through the NSA's networks with impunity, and that the agency had so few controls in place that the only way they can guess what has been taken is to extrapolate based on what has been published. Does anyone believe that Snowden was the first to take advantage of that lax security? I don't."

He adds: "I am reminded of a comment made to me in confidence by a US intelligence official. I asked him what he was most worried about, and he replied: 'I know how deep we are in our enemies' networks without them having any idea that we're there. I'm worried that our networks are penetrated just as deeply'."

Pointing the finger of blame at Snowden, he concludes, is politically convenient and simply lets NSA, GCHQ and other agencies off the hook.

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