Consultants must sign confidentiality agreement

As a consultant for more than a decade I can tell you that during the on-boarding process new hires are required to sign a confidentiality agreement.  This is because you will be working on client data and often have access to trade secrets during the course of the engagement. 

At Accenture we consultants were privy to all kinds of corporate data, and took pride in the access we were afforded as members of the elite consultancy we were a part of.

Today things are different. As witnessed by the recent disclosure by Edward Snowden of information, that the United States is collecting data on our phone traffic including discussions, today's consultants are a different breed entirely.

Snowden Lauded for His Disclosure With Time Magazine Cover 

Snowden apparently specifically took the consulting job with Booz Allen Hamilton to gain access to their client's data and expose it to the world.  

He supposedly is exposing the information for a noble purpose "to educate people about what's going on."  I don't buy it  for one minute.  

Snowden is seeking fame.  That's the objective of his generation.  Forget about being a doctor, lawyer, or scientist. He decided to go big, and global, with his fame, and he succeeded.

He is currently on the cover of Time magazine as a new age "hactivist" and has caught the eye of Julian Assange the editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks.

So I guess he got what he wanted... Global Fame

Whistle Blower or Traitor?

Whatever happened to integrity and character? Exactly when did it become endearing to mislead a consulting firm, sign confidentiality agreements, then do them the injustice of releasing their clients' secrets to the world?

How can companies now trust Booz Allen Hamilton and their consultants when allowing them access to confidential corporate information?  

If this goes unchecked, then every company is potentially exposed to future "Snowden" types joining their organization for the express purpose of "exposing" them.  

The new issue of Time Magazine touts Snowden as one of the "geeks who leak." 

I'm sorry but that does not work for me. He is no such thing.

Oh, by the way, none of what he released is news, as I've seen it in movies for years.  Where has everyone been?  

What can businesses do to protect themselves from these types of people?  I don't know.  Do you?