Friend of mine, a smart journalist, had his iPad stolen. He couldn't help that - the thief broke into his house. But his private, personal data wasn't stolen, exactly. Donated, more like. He had no passcode set on the iPad.

Snowden has been very sparing about discussing his early life or his personal life.

Cheney was among the best secretaries of defence the country has ever had. He was a very effective White House chief of staff. He did not make many enemies, and he had the ability to persuade people with that soft tone and very reasonable style of his. He's always been exceptionally good as the right-hand man.

White House officials acknowledge in broad terms that a president's time and public rhetoric are among his most valuable policy tools.

In computer circles, any unencrypted data is known as 'cleartext.'

I'm a journalist and author. I make my living by finding things out and writing about them.