--- title: "10 Critical Quotes By Edward Snowden" description: "10 Critical quotes by Edward Snowden. Plus more from Edward Snowden and more Critical sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/edward-snowden-555_critical_our-system-of-education-not-designed-to_1864561.jpg" --- > [ \[Our system of education \]not designed to create critical thinkers. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/our-system-of-education-not-designed-to-create-critical-thinkers/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/edward-snowden-555_critical_our-system-of-education-not-designed-to_1864561.jpg) > [Cyber Command is supposed to be defending our critical infrastructure at home, but they are spending so much time looking at how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/cyber-command-is-supposed-to-be-defending-our-critical-infrastructure/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/edward-snowden-555_add_cyber-command-is-supposed-to-be-defendin_1027090.jpg) > [The internet is shared critical infrastructure for everyone on earth. It's not supposed to be a domain of warfare. We're not supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-internet-is-shared-critical-infrastructure-for-everyone-on-earth/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/edward-snowden-555_battleground_the-internet-is-shared-critical-infrastr_1551989.jpg) > [It's critical how we want to use these spy programs, these electronic capabilities, where we want to draw the line, and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-s-critical-how-we-want-to-use-these-spy-programs-these-electronic/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/edward-snowden-555_capability_it-s-critical-how-we-want-to-use-these-s_2381091.jpg) > [Too often we forget that social and political movements don't happen overnight. They don't bring change immediately - you have to build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-political-movements-don-t-happen/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/edward-snowden-555_change_too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-poli_22624.jpg) > [What has a great value to us as a nation is the internet itself. The internet is critical infrastructure to the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/what-has-a-great-value-to-us-as-a-nation-is-the-internet-itself-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/edward-snowden-555_communication_what-has-a-great-value-to-us-as-a-nation_1617942.jpg) > [The United States is more reliant on the technical systems. We're more reliant on the critical infrastructure of the internet than any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-united-states-is-more-reliant-on-the-technical-systems-we-re-more/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/edward-snowden-555_attacks_the-united-states-is-more-reliant-on-the_769871.jpg) > [When we talk about computer network exploitation, computer network attack, we're not just talking about your home PC. We're talking about your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-talk-about-computer-network-exploitation-computer-network/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/edward-snowden-555_attacking_when-we-talk-about-computer-network-expl_3120647.jpg) > [When people conceptualize a cyber-attack, they do tend to think about parts of the critical infrastructure like power plants, water supplies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-people-conceptualize-a-cyber-attack-they-do-tend-to-think-about/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/edward-snowden-555_areas_when-people-conceptualize-a-cyber-attack_327606.jpg) > [If the United States is promoting the development of exploits, of vulnerabilities, of insecurity in this critical infrastructure, and we're not fixing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-the-united-states-is-promoting-the-development-of-exploits-of/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/edward-snowden-555_country_if-the-united-states-is-promoting-the-de_907659.jpg) ## Other authors on Critical ## More by Edward Snowden > [It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-is-afraid-of-an-informed-angry-public-demanding-the-constitutional/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The NSA and Israel wrote Stuxnet together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-nsa-and-israel-wrote-stuxnet-together/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/as-a-general-rule-so-long-as-you-have-any-choice-at-all-you-should/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. The oath of service is not to secrecy, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/you-are-also-asked-to-take-an-oath-and-that-s-the-oath-of-service-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. It's a basic protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-need-to-think-about-encryption-not-as-this-sort-of-arcane-black/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [A lot of people in 2008 voted for Obama. I did not vote for him. I voted for a third party. But I believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/a-lot-of-people-in-2008-voted-for-obama-i-did-not-vote-for-him-i/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Too often we forget that social and political movements don't happen overnight. They don't bring change immediately - you have to build a critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-political-movements-don-t-happen/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ There was a real choice when \[Barack Obama\] became president. It was a very difficult choice - to say, "We're not going to hold… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/there-was-a-real-choice-when-barack-obama-became-president-it-was-a/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We've learned that we've allowed technological capabilities to dictate policies and practices, rather than ensuring that our laws and values guide our technological capabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-ve-learned-that-we-ve-allowed-technological-capabilities-to/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [It's much easier, I think, to protect communications while they're in transit at least, than it is to enforce legislation in every country in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-s-much-easier-i-think-to-protect-communications-while-they-re-in/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-an-adversary-didn-t-target-our-power-plants-but-they-did-target/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I care more about the country than what happens to me. But we can't allow the law to become a political weapon or agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-care-more-about-the-country-than-what-happens-to-me-but-we-can-t/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/edward-snowden/#itemlist", "name": "10 Critical Quotes By Edward Snowden", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Our system of education ]not designed to create critical thinkers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/our-system-of-education-not-designed-to-create-critical-thinkers/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/edward-snowden-555_critical_our-system-of-education-not-designed-to_1864561.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/edward-snowden-555_critical_our-system-of-education-not-designed-to_1864561.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/edward-snowden-555_critical_our-system-of-education-not-designed-to_1864561.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Our system of education ]not designed to create critical thinkers.” — Edward Snowden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cyber Command is supposed to be defending our critical infrastructure at home, but they are spending so much time looking at how to attack networks, how to break systems, and how to turn things off. 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We use the internet for every communication that businesses rely on every day.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/what-has-a-great-value-to-us-as-a-nation-is-the-internet-itself-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/edward-snowden-555_communication_what-has-a-great-value-to-us-as-a-nation_1617942.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/edward-snowden-555_communication_what-has-a-great-value-to-us-as-a-nation_1617942.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/edward-snowden-555_communication_what-has-a-great-value-to-us-as-a-nation_1617942.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What has a great value to us as a nation is the internet itself. 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And when there's such a low barrier to entering the domain of cyber-attacks we're starting a fight that we can't win.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-united-states-is-more-reliant-on-the-technical-systems-we-re-more/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/edward-snowden-555_attacks_the-united-states-is-more-reliant-on-the_769871.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/edward-snowden-555_attacks_the-united-states-is-more-reliant-on-the_769871.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/edward-snowden-555_attacks_the-united-states-is-more-reliant-on-the_769871.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The United States is more reliant on the technical systems. 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They hack the routers that connect nations to the internet itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-talk-about-computer-network-exploitation-computer-network/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/edward-snowden-555_attacking_when-we-talk-about-computer-network-expl_3120647.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/edward-snowden-555_attacking_when-we-talk-about-computer-network-expl_3120647.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/edward-snowden-555_attacking_when-we-talk-about-computer-network-expl_3120647.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we talk about computer network exploitation, computer network attack, we're not just talking about your…” — Edward Snowden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When people conceptualize a cyber-attack, they do tend to think about parts of the critical infrastructure like power plants, water supplies, and similar sort of heavy infrastructure, critical infrastructure areas. And they could be hit, as long as they're network connected, as long as they have some kind of systems that interact with them that could be manipulated from internet connection.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-people-conceptualize-a-cyber-attack-they-do-tend-to-think-about/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/edward-snowden-555_areas_when-people-conceptualize-a-cyber-attack_327606.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/edward-snowden-555_areas_when-people-conceptualize-a-cyber-attack_327606.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/edward-snowden-555_areas_when-people-conceptualize-a-cyber-attack_327606.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When people conceptualize a cyber-attack, they do tend to think about parts of the critical infrastructure…” — Edward Snowden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the United States is promoting the development of exploits, of vulnerabilities, of insecurity in this critical infrastructure, and we're not fixing it when we find it, instead we put it on the shelf so we can use it the next time we want to launch an attack against some foreign country. We're leaving ourselves at risk.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-the-united-states-is-promoting-the-development-of-exploits-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/edward-snowden-555_country_if-the-united-states-is-promoting-the-de_907659.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/edward-snowden-555_country_if-the-united-states-is-promoting-the-de_907659.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/edward-snowden-555_country_if-the-united-states-is-promoting-the-de_907659.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the United States is promoting the development of exploits, of vulnerabilities, of insecurity in this…” — Edward Snowden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/edward-snowden/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/edward-snowden/", "name": "Critical Quotes by Edward Snowden", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/edward-snowden/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/edward-snowden-555_critical_our-system-of-education-not-designed-to_1864561.jpg" }, "description": "10 Critical quotes by Edward Snowden. 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