The article clearly implies that Snowden's actions were "theft"
And — also — not whistleblowing, because nothing he has alleged is illegal.
At least one surveillance program revealed by Snowden has been challenged in US courts and found to be illegal, whether any others revealed were illegal remains a disputed point.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/07/politics/nsa-telephone-metadat...
A federal court disagreed to that in 2015 [PDF]: