Edward Snowden traveled to New Delhi, India. There, he spent six days taking courses in computer hacking and programming at a local professional school, according to school officials and people familiar with Snowden's trip.
The class's ostensible purpose is to train students to protect computers and their contents from thieves and spies. But in order to do that, they learn how to break into computers and steal information.
Snowden also inquired about methods to reverse-engineer the world's most popular kits for committing widespread online crime.
Snowden didn't disclose his India trip to investigators when renewing his top-secret security clearance the following year.
It was that clearance, NSA officials say, that gave Snowden access to the 1.7 million classified files he later stole from the agency's computer networks and databases.
U.S. intelligence officials have faulted the company that conducted Snowden's background check for not more thoroughly questioning him about overseas travel and what foreign nationals he may have met with, which is standard procedure for detecting whether someone is spying for a foreign power.
Snowden was in the country in his capacity as an NSA contractor "to assist as a technical expert" at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified.
Snowden also told his computer instructor that he worked for the NSA and that he was in the city "on business," said Rohit Aggarwal, the CEO and founder of the school, Koenig Solutions.
Snowden's time in India has been covered in the Indian press but has received little attention in the United States.
The travels offer a rare glimpse into his activities in the years before he became arguably the most famous leaker of classified secrets in American history.
According to officials at the Koenig school, Snowden flew to India from Japan, arriving on Sept. 2, 2010, and staying for one night at New Delhi's Hyatt Regency hotel.
A Koenig representative picked him up at the hotel on Sept. 3 and then drove Snowden to a lodging facility provided by the school.
He stayed there until Sept. 9 while he took classes, and then returned for one more night at the Hyatt before leaving India on Sept. 11, the school said.
Aggarwal, the Koening CEO, said it's not unusual to find U.S. intelligence employees taking courses at his school, and that between 50 and 100 American military service personnel take courses there each year, as well as at a location in Dubai.
A Defense Department spokesman could not confirm that military personnel have taken courses at the school, or that it's been approved by the Pentagon as a training facility. But personnel responsible for protecting the department's computer systems are required to obtain commercial certificaitons, including in ethical hacking.
The class's ostensible purpose is to train students to protect computers and their contents from thieves and spies. But in order to do that, they learn how to break into computers and steal information.
Snowden also inquired about methods to reverse-engineer the world's most popular kits for committing widespread online crime.
Snowden didn't disclose his India trip to investigators when renewing his top-secret security clearance the following year.
It was that clearance, NSA officials say, that gave Snowden access to the 1.7 million classified files he later stole from the agency's computer networks and databases.
U.S. intelligence officials have faulted the company that conducted Snowden's background check for not more thoroughly questioning him about overseas travel and what foreign nationals he may have met with, which is standard procedure for detecting whether someone is spying for a foreign power.
Snowden was in the country in his capacity as an NSA contractor "to assist as a technical expert" at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified.
Snowden also told his computer instructor that he worked for the NSA and that he was in the city "on business," said Rohit Aggarwal, the CEO and founder of the school, Koenig Solutions.
Snowden's time in India has been covered in the Indian press but has received little attention in the United States.
The travels offer a rare glimpse into his activities in the years before he became arguably the most famous leaker of classified secrets in American history.
According to officials at the Koenig school, Snowden flew to India from Japan, arriving on Sept. 2, 2010, and staying for one night at New Delhi's Hyatt Regency hotel.
A Koenig representative picked him up at the hotel on Sept. 3 and then drove Snowden to a lodging facility provided by the school.
He stayed there until Sept. 9 while he took classes, and then returned for one more night at the Hyatt before leaving India on Sept. 11, the school said.
Aggarwal, the Koening CEO, said it's not unusual to find U.S. intelligence employees taking courses at his school, and that between 50 and 100 American military service personnel take courses there each year, as well as at a location in Dubai.
A Defense Department spokesman could not confirm that military personnel have taken courses at the school, or that it's been approved by the Pentagon as a training facility. But personnel responsible for protecting the department's computer systems are required to obtain commercial certificaitons, including in ethical hacking.
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