How did a high school drop-out become entrusted with the government's biggest secrets?

Edward Snowden, 29, leaked details of PRISM, a National Security Agency program he says harvests personal data from internet

He has fled to Hong Kong from Hawaii, where he worked as computer technician for government contractor on $200,000 a year salary



Questions over how a man who failed to complete his high school education was entrusted with NSA's top secrets and systems

The man behind one of the most significant leaks in U.S. history has revealed himself as a high school drop-out who turned against his government when he realized it was 'doing far more harm than good'.



As Edward Snowden steps from the shadows to explain his reasons for leaking information from the National Security Agency, questions are emerging over how the failed student rose up the ranks to become gatekeeper of the government's biggest secrets.

Snowden, 29, spoke to The Guardian from a hotel room in Hong Kong where he is on the run after leaking sensitive documents on how the NSA has gleaned personal data from internet companies.



He had access to the NSA's top secrets after a steep rise to work for government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, which paid him $200,000 a year to work on the the agency's computer systems.

The whistleblower: Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, is pictured in Hong Kong after identifying himself as the man who leaked the agency's secrets

While there, the NSA let him see 'everything', he said - a baffling position considering his limited credentials.

Snowden grew up in in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, before later moving to Maryland, near the headquarters of the National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Meade.

Public records show his mother is a government employee - a deputy clerk for the U.S. District Court in Maryland - the Washington Post reported.



He took just a few 'computer' classes at a community college in a bid to get his high-school equivalency degree, yet he failed to complete them.

Despite no qualifications, The Guardian, which interviewed him at a secret location, called him 'a master on computers' and 'happiest when talking about the technical side of surveillance'.



As a teenager he dreamed of defending the American Way as a soldier in the U.S. Army and began a training program to join the Special Forces in 2003.

He told The Guardian he wanted to fight in the Iraq war because he felt he had an obligation as a human being to help free people from oppression - the same reason he is giving to justify his leaks.

Far from home: The home in Waipahu, Hawaii, where Snowden lived with his girlfriend until recently

WILL HONG KONG PROTECT HIM? SNOWDEN'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Edward Snowden has fled to Hong Kong, which is a gamble, but the country's free speech laws mean he does have a slim chance of avoiding being swept back to America if the government demand he returns.

Hong Kong signed an extradition treaty with the United States in 1997, just before Britain handed it back to China. In it both agreed to send fugitives back and forth in the majority of cases, but there were also political exemptions negotiated at the time.

Hong Kong has the 'right of refusal when surrender implicates the "defense, foreign affairs or essential public interest or policy'' of the People's Republic of China'.

China itself has no extradition treaty with America at all.

Hong Kong officials also have the right to say no to extradition if they believe that the attempt is 'politically motivated'. This means that they will protect free speech if a person is being arrested just for their political opinions.

The United States may have already approached Interpol or its consulate in Hong Kong to start proceedings. They will use the Espionage Act to gain warrants for his arrest.

Hong Kong's authorities can hold Snowden for 60 days, following a U.S. request that includes probable cause, while Washington prepares a formal extradition request. 'I think it is really tragic that an American has to move to a place that has a reputation for less freedom,' he told The Guardian.



But he was stunned when he began his training. 'Most of the people training us seemed pumped up about killing Arabs, not helping anyone,' he said.

After he broke both his legs in a training accident, he was discharged.



The Guardian added that Snowden had tried to join the elite special forces but had been unsuccessful.

Records show he enlisted in the army reserve as a special forces recruit in May 2004 and was discharged that September. An army spokesman told the Guardian that he did not complete any training or receive any awards.



He got his first NSA job working as a security guard at one of the agency's facilities at the University of Maryland before moving to the CIA to work on IT security.

There, he rose quickly, making a bizarrely large leap to having access to more and more top-secret documents as he climbed the ranks.

On its hiring site, the NSA says each role requires a different application process. But it says that applicants 'can expect their hiring process to include medical screening, a polygraph interview, drug test, and an extensive background investigation'.

It adds that the background check helps determine the person's 'honesty, trustworthiness, reliability, discretion, and unquestioned loyalty to the United States' and requires interviews with family and colleagues.

It is unknown which checks Snowden underwent before his job as a security guard, and whether these checks were repeated as he rose through the ranks. The NSA does give hiring preference to former military, according to its website .



In 2007, the CIA stationed him with diplomatic cover in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was responsible for maintaining computer network security and privy to more secrets than ever before.

Despite his lackluster resume, he was not only privy to the agency's surveillance systems, he also had the ability to use them, he told the Guardian in a video interview.

'I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities [sic] to wiretap anyone from you or your accountant to a federal judge to even the president if I had a personal email,' he said.

After soaring up the ranks at the NSA and then as a contractor, he said there came a moment when he realized his government was 'doing more harm than good'.

Surveillance: Policemen stand outside the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong; Snowden fled to the country after releasing information about the NSA to The Guardian newspaper but his location is unknown 'Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world,' he said.

He told The Guardian of one incident where CIA operatives got a Swiss banker drunk in an effort to recruit him as an informant to obtain secret banking information. He said they encouraged him to drive home intoxicated and when he was arrested for DUI, the undercover agents offered to help, managing to recruit the banker on the back of the favour. Snowden said this and other things he witnessed in Geneva disillusioned him about how his government worked and how this in turn impacted the world.

'I realized that I was part of something that was doing far more harm than good,' he said. He said he was disappointed President Obama advanced the policies he was hoping the newly elected President was stamp out and that 'hardened' him. Explaining why he decided to leave the U.S., he said: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things... I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded.'

On the run: Visitors walk into The Mira Hotel, Snowden was reported to have checked out of on Monday

In hiding: Snowden is in Hong Kong, pictured, and said he does not expect ever to return home

Snowden was previously a technical officer for the CIA and worked at the National Security Agency (NSA) as an employee of Dell, a private contractor, before being hired by Booz Allen as an infrastructure analyst for the NSA in Hawaii. He said he was also stationed in Japan at one point.



He worked as an infrastructure analyst for Booz Allen before telling his employers he needed to take a break for treatment for epilepsy. He told his girlfriend he needed to travel for work.



In a statement, the company confirmed Snowden had been an employee for less than three months and had been assigned to a team in Hawaii.

'News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm,' it said.

Snowden said he was content to sever his 'very comfortable life', which included a six-figure salary, a girlfriend, a home in Hawaii and his family, to shine a light on the NSA's widening surveillance net.



And while his decision to reveal his identity may seem strange considering the potential ramifications, he said: 'I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong.'

