Information technology plays an important role in the era of Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and WikiLeaks. After conducting extensive research, findings emerged on how these individuals influenced defense information systems. Edward Snowden was a contractor hired to work for the United States government in 2013. Snowden was given access to millions of pieces of classified information. Over the next year, Snowden began leaking the stolen information to American and British journalists. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essaySnowden believed that the United States was doing something wrong and that it was the right thing when it came to releasing such information to the public, but the government considered Snowden a whistleblower and a traitor. Snowden simply showed the nation how easy it was to hack into the system, collect data, and not leave a digital footprint, where it cannot be traced back to an individual. Snowden leaked information about the United States and other countries and revealed that the American government and other countries were corrupt. WikiLeaks released the information that Snowden shared with them. A few years later WikiLeaks made the news again, this time with Chelsea Manning formally known as Pvt. Bradley Manning. In 2010, Manning leaked cables dumped and dispersed from embassies, consulates, war logs on the war in Afghanistan and Pentagon documents. WikiLeaks released all the information received from Manning to the world. People were very incredulous about what Manning did. In 2010, the United States wanted to extradite the founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks. Manning approached his superiors, but was rebuffed and sent back to do his job. Manning shared all the information and intentions with former hacker Adrian Lamo, who in return informed government officials. Manning was also classified as an informer and was court-martialed. Manning was sentenced to thirty-seven years in prison. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Snowden, Manning and WikiLeaks all have one thing in common and it all revolves around the defense system. There is so much data stored from decades ago and it was thought that releasing the information would make a difference. It just shows how weak and prone he was to any kind of attack. Now there is more policing in cyberspace.