RantCrush Top 5: October 6, 2016

Another NSA contractor was apparently secretly arrested by the FBI back in August and has been in custody ever since. Harold Thomas Martin is under suspicion of stealing and leaking classified material, or more specifically: a secret super code used to hack foreign governments’ computer systems.

The difference between Martin and whistleblowers like Edward Snowden or Chelsea Manning is that this guy stole the actual software, not documents. It also doesn’t seem like he did it for the public interest, and this software can be used for a whole lotta damage. Snowden pointed out that Martin was charged with theft of government material, not espionage, like he was.

Am I correct in reading they didn’t charge him under the Espionage Act? Under this administration, that’s a noteworthy absence.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 5, 2016

Some have speculated Martin may be connected to the hacking by the Shadow Brokers in August.

So if Martin ISN’T Shadow Brokers guy, it means NSA has got pwned two times in immediate wake of Snowden, and for at least 6 months after.

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) October 5, 2016

It remains to be seen if Martin wants truth for the people, or if he’s selling the code to Russia, China, or another actor.

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