The Patriot software used to protect the data of American citizens from terrorism and cyberattacks by the National Security Agency is now known as “Snowden,” and the fallout from its revelations has led to the resignation of NSA Director Mike Rogers.
In an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Snowden’s new name was announced to be “Kellyanne Conway.”
According to a press release from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the name change is intended to honor the NSA whistleblower who has been under intense scrutiny since leaks of NSA surveillance programs exposed the agency’s illegal activities.
The name change will be “to reflect the significant changes in the technology that have resulted from the Snowden disclosures.”
The ODB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Snowden’s name is not a new one.
The NSA whistleblower’s former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, released a video on Sunday showing him being questioned by FBI agents in 2013.
After his resignation, he made the unusual move of taking a job with the private firm CrowdStrike, which was then in a class-action lawsuit filed by Snowden.
“We have always maintained that the name of Edward Snowden should be changed to Kellyanne.
This was a simple decision that was made by the President, based on the fact that the circumstances of his arrest and detention by the FBI were so egregious,” CrowdStrike said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Edward and his family.
We appreciate the President’s decision to honor Kellyanna and her colleagues and look forward to their continued efforts in support of his constitutional rights.”
On Sunday, Trump defended the NSA’s use of the name, telling “Fox News Sunday” that he was not familiar with Snowden’s background and was only familiar with his background because of the leaks by the former contractor.
“I have absolutely no idea about what he’s been up to,” Trump said.
“I mean, I don’t know, because he’s an amazing guy.
He’s a great guy.
But I’m sure that he’s working on a lot of other things.
He was an incredible guy.
I mean, he was a whistleblower.
I didn’t know him.
He had nothing to do with this.”
