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1-Page Summary of Permanent Record
Overall Summary
Edward Snowden is a former CIA and NSA contractor. In 2013, he released classified documents that revealed how American intelligence agencies were conducting secret mass surveillance on their own citizens.
The book begins by describing Snowden’s childhood. His parents worked for the government and moved to the Beltway, which is where Washington, D.C., is located. When he was about 12 years old, his parents bought him a computer so that he could learn how to use it. He became interested in computers and started spending a lot of time online. He learned how to build computers and taught himself coding skills while playing games on the internet like many other kids at that age do. One day when he was hacking into websites as part of an experiment, he found a flaw in one website related to nuclear research that had been reported previously but not yet fixed—he informed them about this security breach just like any responsible hacker would have done before going public with it!
A man is very interested in computers, and he uses them a lot. He starts using them when he’s young, and as time goes on, his usage increases. This causes problems for him because it makes him neglect schoolwork and lose sleep due to insomnia. Eventually, the computer becomes an obsession that affects his life negatively. His parents divorce because of all this computer use, which also leads to more stress for the boy/man. In college, he meets a woman who runs her own web design company called Mae Design Company. He begins working with her while going to school full-time after 9/11 occurs (which was another stressful event).
Edward Snowden was a computer expert, but he enlisted in the army before attending basic training. An accident caused him to be discharged from the military and he decided to join the CIA’s intelligence services. He had to go through a security clearance process and met Lindsay Mills online who became his girlfriend. He eventually got posted at embassies around Europe and Asia where he worked on securing their computer systems. This led him to realize that technology could allow governments to spy on people like they did with China, which inspired him greatly. However, when he tried moving back into American society after working in Japan for several years, it didn’t work out well because of cultural differences between both countries which left him feeling isolated and depressed
Snowden moves back to the United States, where he returns to working with the CIA. He experiences stress-related seizures and is diagnosed with epilepsy. He transfers to Hawaii due to this condition. There, he works for the NSA and begins covert research on mass surveillance as much as possible. In one of his programs (Heartbeat), Snowden collects documents and blueprints so that he can creatively censor himself in case anyone finds out what he’s up to while transferring files onto an encrypted drive at home after work every day just in case something bad happens so that nobody can figure any pieces of evidence found hidden elsewhere by anybody else easily unless otherwise authorized or legitimately required under circumstances only known by someone capable enough such a method including electronic access themselves if intercepted accidentally almost impossible even though it
A man is employed by the NSA and later learns more about their capabilities. He decides to contact journalists, hoping that they will report on what he has learned. The man takes a leave of absence from work and flies to Hong Kong, where the journalists eventually arrive. His employer is suspicious of his actions, as well as his girlfriend who accompanies him during this time.
