Snowden Tricked NSA Co-Worker for Access

Heads are slowly starting to roll in the wake of Edward Snowden's leaks. A civilian NSA employee who let Snowden use his login to access classified info has resigned, after being stripped of his security clearance, the NSA revealed in an unclassified memo this week, spotted by NBC News. According to the memo, the civilian put in his password to let Snowden access files "that he knew had been denied to Mr. Snowden." Unbeknownst to the contractor, Snowden recorded his keystrokes so he could access the info at his leisure.

The contractor didn't know that Snowden intended to leak the files, but "he failed to comply with security obligations." A contractor and an active duty military member have also been "implicated" in the Snowden case, the memo reveals, though it doesn't elaborate. They've had their access revoked, but further discipline is pending. The moves are the first results of the NSA's internal probe into the incident. Earlier reports indicate that as many as 25 people gave Snowden their passwords. The revelation further underscores how low-tech some of Snowden's snooping techniques were. (More Edward Snowden stories.)