The NSA Leak Backlash No One is Talking About Published Thu, Jun 13th, 2013 Marty Biancuzzo, Senior Political Analyst “I am neither a traitor nor a hero. I’m an American. People who think I made a mistake in picking Honk Kong as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from an injustice; I am here to reveal a criminality.” –Edward Snowden Edward Snowden is undoubtedly the marked man of the hour. For those of you who may have had a technological blackout for the past week, Snowden is the man who blew the whistle on the NSA’s shameful violation of your Fourth Amendment rights. And the reason he’s on the defensive is because, put simply, the government didn’t want us to know about the NSA’s scheme. Over the last couple of days, we’ve heard top political figures declare Snowden a traitor, call his acts treasonous, and denounce his entire life story. They’re essentially posting electronic versions of this classic poster all over town: PICTURE capitolhilldaily/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/wanted.jpg But don’t be fooled. It’s simply the government’s attempt to destroy his credibility so it can save its own. People like Snowden are used as examples to scare you into submission… Just in case you happen to find yourself in the same position as Snowden one day, you’ll certainly think twice before snitching on Uncle Sam. Personally, I believe whistleblowers are heroes. And Snowden is a perfect example of why. He gave up a $200,000 annual salary to spend the rest of his life on the run… always looking over his shoulder… all in an effort to expose government crime and keep the government honest and in check. But listen, I’m not here to talk to you about whether Snowden is right or wrong… You can find those opinions all over the news. I’m not here to talk to you about how politicians will react to a defiant American civilian on the run… They’re going to do as they please (they always do). What I’m here to talk to you about is something everyone else is forgetting… the backlash that a leak of this nature always causes. Fallout Damage Snowden fired a bullet at the U.S. government and the NSA. But ultimately it was Booz-Allen Hamilton who was hit by friendly fire… You see, just three short months ago, the government contracting mega-firm hired Snowden to fill a role at its National Security Agency division in Hawaii. Despite his short tenure there, Snowden’s choice to expose the PRISM surveillance program could mean long-term problems for the government contractors. You see, the leaked information was deemed highly sensitive by the government, who in turn trusted Booz-Allen to contain it with the utmost secrecy. Snowden’s leak was a major breach of that trust, and the government is looking for someone to feel its wrath. Someone has to pay for turning on the government… somebody always does. And with Snowden in Hong Kong, Booz-Allen is standing at the front of that line. It certainly will feel the brunt of the government’s wrath, especially considering a major slice of Booz-Allen’s bottom line comes from U.S. government funding. How big of a slice, you ask? Oh, only a modest 99% of its revenue comes from various divisions of federal government funding. For example, Booz-Allen’s largest influx comes from the U.S. Army at 16%, which translates into $11.8 billion in long-term contracts. One of the signature services it provides for the government is focused around technical support, cyber security and data protection for government computers and networks. Booz-Allen makes sure those systems and networks are secure and running efficiently for some of the most sensitive divisions of government, including the IRS and Department of Health and Human Services. What’s essential to understand about Booz-Allen is that it’s privy to our nation’s most sensitive secrets. And now, the government seriously doubts whether Booze-Allen can be trusted with such secrets. Consider this – across a staff of roughly 25,000, a whopping 76% hold government security clearances. 49% hold “top-secret” clearance. Edward Snowden, then, is just one man out of 12,250. And it’s with that thought in mind that the government will justify its decision to pull funding. Plain and simple – Booz-Allen is completely dependent on those government resources. If it were to lose out on government contracts, Booz-Allen’s economic well-being would surely collapse. If you happen to be a shareholder, I’d highly recommend selling as soon as possible. There are plenty of solid government contracting firm investments that exist outside of this mess. Until next time, I remain… Your eyes on the Hill, Martin Biancuzzo capitolhilldaily/2013/06/snowden-booz-allen-leak/
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:36:51 +0000