Paper Title
POMPEO, CHRISTIE, OBAMA, THE “GOVERNMENT CYBERPROTECTORS” AND SNOWDEN ET AL THE “NEW KNOWLEDGE CYBERCLASS”

Abstract
This work is designed as a case study research of US government cybersecurity guardians, also known as “Government CyberProtectors,” involving data collection from primary and secondary sources. The method is a content analysis to determine the presence of certain themes within this primary and secondary data which this research can then make inferences about the messages within the texts. The purpose of this study is to explore and theorize on the motivations of “Government CyberProtectors” a largely political class whose shared values generallycontradict those of the growing cadre of whistleblowers that expose the 'abusive' cybersecurity practices of Western governments. This research primarily focuses on such practices of the United States government. The findings show the emergence of a recent class of government power brokers, with its own shared social phenomena, who will be known by a new term: the “Government CyberProtectors.” The development of the GCP was revealed as a reaction to theriveting data revelations by Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and Chelsea Manning also known as the New Knowledge Cyberclass (NKC). What separates the“Government CyberProtectors”(i.e. President Obama, former Gov. Chris Christie, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo) from the New Knowledge Cyberclass is that this group argues that these “leakers” stole and leaked classified documents that endangered lives. Their definitions differ in what it means to be defenders of democracy, which here pertains to the rights to citizens’ online privacy and the degree of secrecy in U.S. government.Drawing on routine activity theory, insider threat theory, and deterrence theory this research explores the formation of this new class and a collective ethos that binds this group together despite the tensions, differences, and conflicts within this new class. By applying these theories, it is possible to also identify potential risks and develop strategies to protect whistleblowers and prevent wrongdoing within organizations while also minimizing thealleged damage to national security. This is the first study directed towards connecting these different agents of government Pompeo, Christie, and Obama to the emergence of a new class of government power brokers who directly challenge the whistleblowers’ claims of Western government malpractices with citizens’ online privacy and secrecy in foreign operations. This research explores both the birth of this new class and a collective ethos that binds this group together despite the tensions and conflicts within this new class. Keywords - Pompeo, Christie, Obama, Cyber security, Assange, Government Cyber Protectors, Internet