[strictnein]

> "Snowden isn't some magical computer genius of exceptional ability either"

Yeah, his main "hack" was social engineering - convincing others to give him their credentials for various made up IT work.

[strictnein]

It's a little late now, but I'm truly curious why people downvoted this, because it is literally how he gathered large swaths of the data he stole.

[jessaustin]

That's still "hacking". NSA apologists have to be careful when scoffing at the exploits of their various rogue employees: if it was so easy, one really must assume that agents of China, Russia, etc. have done it too.