The Guardian destroys hardware with digital copies of Snowden's leaks

British authorities demand The Guardian newspaper wipes all its hard drives installed on computers belonging to editorial staff, claiming they may contain information made available by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Local media reported that should the newspaper refuse to follow orders, it may be criminally prosecuted. Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger was previously ordered by British officials to either delete all data provided by Snowden or hand it over to the authorities. Rusbridger initially refused to give in and declared that he found these orders absurd, promising to stand his ground. It was later reported that the newspaper complied and destroyed hardware with allegedly illegal information. Alan Rusbringer wrote on The Guardian’s website: “ And so one of the more bizarre moments in the Guardian's long history occurred – with two GCHQ security experts overseeing the destruction of hard drives in the Guardian's basement just to make sure there was nothing in the mangled bits of metal which could possibly be of any interest to passing Chinese agents. ” Rusbringer stated that this even will not stop their activity, promising to keep publishing Snowden’s information taking necessary precautions: “We will continue to do patient, painstaking reporting on the Snowden documents, we just won't do it in London. ” Previously Glenn Greenwald, journalist working for The Guarding, who authored a number of exposés based on Snowden’s leaks, has announced plans to continue publicly disclosing information pertaining to American surveillance services, despite this attention to the daily form the authorities. This weekend his partner was taken into custody in London’s Heathrow Airport and questioned for 9 hours straight. “They are going to regret what they did,” Greenwald said. David Miranda, Glenn Greenwald’s partner, has been detained on Sunday at London's Heathrow Airport. Police has announced that he was questioned according to 2000 anti-terrorist law, which allows local security officials to detained passengers coming to Britain under suspicion of aiding to terrorist. Miranda was questioned for 9 hours and released Sunday night. However, all his digital devices – personal computer, cell phone, digital camera, portable gaming system and memory cards – were confiscated. Early August The Guardian published another article based on Snowden’s revelations, according to which U.S. legislation has a loophole, allowing the NSA to screen digital correspondence of and wiretap “common Americans” without a court order. In June the daily reported on documents pertaining to “minimization procedures”, dated 2009. In these documents it was made clear that the NSA was allowed to use “inadvertently acquired” information regarding Americans in certain cases, such as “criminal activity, threat of harm to people or property, are encrypted, or are believed to contain any information relevant to cybersecurity,” the Guardian pointed out.