Snowden Offered Asylum, Social Media Job in Russia
Edward Snowden, the former technical contractor for the United States' National Security Agency (NSA) who leaked critical details about NSA surveillance, has been granted asylum by the Russian government. He's also been offered a job.
Snowden leaked information about NSA surveillance earlier this year. That prompted a media firestorm focusing on the ultra-secretive NSA and resulted in U.S. federal prosecutors charging Snowden with espionage and theft of government property.
Snowden then fled the United States and until recently he was living in a Moscow airport. However, the U.S. whistleblower has now been granted temporary asylum by the Russian government.
Whistleblower Offered Job By Russian Social Networking Site
Now, it appears Snowden has been offered a job by social networking site VKontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook. According to The New York Times, the site is hoping Snowden will take a programmer position.
"We invite Edward to St. Petersburg and will be thrilled if he decides to join our stellar team of programmers at VKontakte," announced site owner, Pavel Durov.
"At the end of the day, there is no European Internet company more popular than VK. I think Edward might be interested in protecting the personal data of our millions of users." (Source: cnet.com)
With more than 200 million registered users, VKontakte is Russia's top-ranking social networking site. Those behind it insist that an estimated 47 million people check their accounts on a daily basis.
Snowden Popular in Latin America -- But Not Canada
The move reveals that, while the White House and many Americans steam over the Russian government's decision to grant Snowden asylum, the whistleblower is seen as a folk hero in many parts of the world.
Snowden has also been offered asylum by several Latin American countries -- most of which have rocky diplomatic relations with the United States.
However, the U.S. also has its supporters. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird recently condemned Russia's move, insisting that granting Snowden asylum "is not something that Canada would have considered." (Source: cbc.ca)
Most popular articles
- Which Processor is Better: Intel or AMD? - Explained
- How to Prevent Ransomware in 2018 - 10 Steps
- 5 Best Anti Ransomware Software Free
- How to Fix: Computer / Network Infected with Ransomware (10 Steps)
- How to Fix: Your Computer is Infected, Call This Number (Scam)
- Scammed by Informatico Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by Smart PC Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by Right PC Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by PC / Web Network Experts? Here's What to Do
- How to Fix: Windows Update Won't Update
- Explained: Do I need a VPN? Are VPNs Safe for Online Banking?
- Explained: VPN vs Proxy; What's the Difference?
- Explained: Difference Between VPN Server and VPN (Service)
- Forgot Password? How to: Reset Any Password: Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10
- How to: Use a Firewall to Block Full Screen Ads on Android
- Explained: Absolute Best way to Limit Data on Android
- Explained: Difference Between Dark Web, Deep Net, Darknet and More
- Explained: If I Reset Windows 10 will it Remove Malware?
![](/graphics/dennisfaas.jpg)
My name is Dennis Faas and I am a senior systems administrator and IT technical analyst specializing in cyber crimes (sextortion / blackmail / tech support scams) with over 20 years experience; I also run this website! If you need technical assistance , I can help. Click here to email me now; optionally, you can review my resume here. You can also read how I can fix your computer over the Internet (also includes user reviews).
We are BBB Accredited
![](https://www.infopackets.com/graphics/bbb.png)
We are BBB accredited (A+ rating), celebrating 21 years of excellence! Click to view our rating on the BBB.