Snowden’s leaks and the documents now accessible online for researchers

By Loren Blinde November 11, 2014

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In 2013, when Edward Snowden leaked classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents, he brought the world’s attention to the issues of privacy, security and global surveillance, begging questions with few simple answers.

Now, researchers can go deeper into this controversial topic by exploring its history and impact through primary sources. Digital National Security Archive’s Electronic Surveillance and the National Security Agency: From Shamrock to Snowden brings together the world’s most comprehensive, publicly available collection of materials on the subject. Each piece has been carefully gathered and selected by the staff of the National Security Archive – a nonprofit research institute, library and publisher of declassified documentation based at The George Washington University. The works have been digitized, supported with precision search tools and are now accessible to libraries and researchers via ProQuest.

Available in November, Electronic Surveillance and the National Security Agency: From Shamrock to Snowden includes:

A comprehensive set of the documents disclosed by Snowden;
Documents produced or released in response to those disclosures by a variety of sources — the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Agency, congressional offices and other U.S. and foreign government organizations;
Historical context, with documents that chronicle electronic surveillance activities and controversies of much earlier years, including SHAMROCK (telegram collection), MINARET (the watch list), warrantless wiretapping, ECHELON (satellite communications intercepts), and USSID 18 (retention of information on U.S. citizens).

Records from the U.S. and foreign governments were obtained via archival research, Freedom of Information Act requests, and a scouring of the media outlets that to date have posted thousands of pages of still-classified documents.

“This is a one-of-a-kind resource on an issue of extraordinary public — not just academic — importance,” said Malcolm Byrne, research director of The National Security Archive. “The collection’s editor, Dr. Jeffrey Richelson, is one of the world’s leading scholars of the U.S. intelligence community. He will provide regular updates to ensure its ongoing currency and value to researchers.”

DNSA is a creation of the National Security Archive with its associated experts and top scholars, and presented exclusively by ProQuest. Now totaling 44 collections that cover the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post-World War II through the 21st century, DNSA provides unparalleled access to the defining international strategies of our time through: