{"id":570228,"date":"2023-04-14T20:14:14","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T17:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/intel-breach-renews-scrutiny-over-clearances\/"},"modified":"2023-04-14T20:14:14","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T17:14:14","slug":"intel-breach-renews-scrutiny-over-clearances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/intel-breach-renews-scrutiny-over-clearances\/","title":{"rendered":"#Intel breach renews scrutiny over clearances"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a258449c90e4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a258449c90e4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/intel-breach-renews-scrutiny-over-clearances\/#How_security_clearance_works\" >How security clearance works<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/intel-breach-renews-scrutiny-over-clearances\/#Calls_for_access_reviews\" >Calls for access reviews<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/intel-breach-renews-scrutiny-over-clearances\/#Related_stories_from_The_Hill\" >Related stories from The Hill<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/intel-breach-renews-scrutiny-over-clearances\/#Monitoring_access_and_beyond\" >Monitoring access and beyond<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/intel-breach-renews-scrutiny-over-clearances\/#A_possible_cascade_of_issues_from_leaks\" >A possible cascade of issues from leaks<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/pentagon_110421gn2_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The arrest of Jack Teixeira in connection with the leak of classified government documents has quickly raised a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of questions, including how a 21-year-old guardsman at a base in Cape Cod had access to such sensitive information.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities arrested Teixeira on Thursday, following a series of reports identifying him as the leader of a group on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>r site Discord, where documents with significant intelligence on adversaries as well as allies were posted in recent months before spilling over onto other <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> sites.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Teixeira, who served in 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> support staffer, a relatively low-ranking position, but one that still came with access to the Pentagon\u2019s Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS), a clearinghouse for intelligence information.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens of pieces of information that <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear to come from the database were shared\u00a0with 20 to 30 members of \u201cThug Shaker Central,\u201d a group where participants reportedly expressed enthusiasm for guns, racist and antisemitic humor, and devout Catholic views.<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon has begun culling their distribution lists,\u00a0but the episode has renewed discussions over how the intelligence community shares information and doles out clearances.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are systems that provide people access, based on the level of classifications that they\u2019ve been provided. And so they can see stuff that they maybe don\u2019t need to know, and I don\u2019t know how you cordon that stuff off. But, we rely on people to honor their clearances. And there\u2019s a lot of people that don\u2019t take it very seriously,\u201d said David Schenker, a former senior State Department and Pentagon official under the Trump and George W. Bush administrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s those people that have grievances and aren\u2019t loyal Americans, and we have to be consistent about throwing the book at these people, but also, maybe do some rethinking about classification and access.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_security_clearance_works\"><\/span>How security clearance works<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Nearly\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/08\/15\/politics\/classified-information-what-matters\/index.html#:~:text=In%20it%2C%20more%20than%202.8,access%20to%20Top%20Secret%20information.\">3 million Americans<\/a>\u00a0have a security clearance, while about 1.2 million have access to information that is considered top secret.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>In Teixeira\u2019s case, what started as summarizing intelligence reports for his friends on the internet escalated to printing and taking photographs of classified intelligence, including some labeled \u201cNOFORN,\u201d indicating it should not be shared with foreigners.<\/p>\n<p>While printing, photographing and sharing classified information is a crime \u2014 Teixeira was arraigned Friday on charges that include the Espionage Act \u2014 many were surprised by the ease of doing so and that it went<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>undetected for so long.<\/p>\n<p>Glenn Gerstell, who previously served as the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> counsel of the National Security Agency, said Teixeira\u2019s access highlights an issue with JWICS.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019d have to log in with his specific credentials, but once he\u2019s in that network, he then would be entitled to see anything that his clearance level allows him to see,\u201d Gerstell said, something that in theory should only allow him to see information on a \u201cneed to know\u201d basis relevant to his job.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound like that principle was adhered to in this practice,\u201d Gerstell said.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Calls_for_access_reviews\"><\/span>Calls for access reviews<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Among the reportedly 300 documents allegedly leaked by Texeira were detailed assessments on Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, including intimate conversations among high-level Russian officials. Also leaked was intelligence on allies and partners \u2014 like Israel, South Korea, Egypt and Turkey \u2014 spanning those countries\u2019 domestic issues and their deliberations surrounding Russia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cNow, how it is that he was able to access such a wide array of materials \u2014 even though his job seems to be far more limited \u2014 and how it is he was able to print this out without attracting notice; and how it is he was able to walk out the door with copies of these documents on multiple occasions over an extended period of many months is going to be the subject of military inquiry,\u201d Gerstell asked.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_stories_from_The_Hill\"><\/span>Related stories from The Hill<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">Some lawmakers have already initiated calls to review access.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are systemic issues that need to be addressed, including protocols for how intelligence is handled, the security clearance process, and how officials can prevent intelligence leaks like this from ever happening again. Congress will be briefed further and corrective steps will be taken,\u201d Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement Thursday.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Gerstell said the intelligence community has rethought how it shares and relays information in recent years, a result of both prior leaks and major events like 9\/11, which spurred agencies to begin sharing more information with partners.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe national security apparatus realized that we really needed to make information more freely available to more people, to share information, break down walls between the FBI and law enforcement and the intelligence community and one another, and make sure that we can do everything we can to facilitate easy sharing of information. Because you never know what kind of information you need to connect the dots,<strong>\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>he said, something that has had real benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Amid criticism over the handling of Iraq, the intelligence community began to more\u00a0regularly \u201cshow our work,\u201d Gerstell said, offering richer detail about how information was collected, including when it came from human sources, and even direct quotes.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAnd you get what we have now, which is a vast amount of detailed information being made available to lots of lots of people, all for very good, rational reasons,<strong>\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0Gerstell said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the problem. And the pendulum swings back and forth and we\u2019ve gone wildly in favor of excessively available information to too many people, including too much information,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Monitoring_access_and_beyond\"><\/span>Monitoring access and beyond<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>That information is only shared with those who have undergone the lengthy clearance vetting process, one that requires disclosing foreign contacts and in some cases can even include a polygraph. It doesn\u2019t probe a candidate\u2019s\u00a0private social media history or political views, as the government cannot base hiring decisions on the latter.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>But the scrutiny largely ends once an employee has a clearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe clearance vetting process, even as invasive as it may be, does not generally probe into your personal political views and opinions. While it may become a subject of interest if those views resulted in a person engaging in illegal conduct or otherwise exhibit behavior raising doubts about their trustworthiness, the agencies lack the time, resources and overall interest to dig into social media accounts and personal politics,\u201d Brad Moss, a national security law expert, told The Hill by email.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe larger issue will be the after-action reports that emerge out of the Government on how this junior level IT official got his hands on all of this classified material and managed to extract it out of secured facilities without anyone noticing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gerstell said while many workplaces in the intelligence community do monitor their employees practices at work, including their printing habits, doing so outside of work could violate employees\u2019 First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n<p>Gaining access to Thug Shaker Central, the private chat group online, would require a warrant, one that could only be gained after demonstrating sufficient cause for the need to obtain such records.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_possible_cascade_of_issues_from_leaks\"><\/span>A possible cascade of issues from leaks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But the whole episode demonstrates the ability of one actor to have a serious impact on national security for numerous countries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole thing is troubling. I mean, so many leaks all the time, but this is incredibly damaging,\u201d said Schenker, noting that the government spends upward of $90 billion a year on intelligence services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd it is top notch.\u00a0And the fact that so many people have access, and so many people have either mental illness or grievances, there\u2019s no way it\u2019s going to be incredibly hard going forward to keep secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schenker noted the sharing of secrets can have real world consequences, even deadly ones.<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to the assassination in 2021 of Lokman Slim, a Lebanese columnist, publisher and filmmaker and outspoken critic of the terrorist-designated group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n<p>Between 2010 and 2011, Slim\u2019s name was included in a trove of diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks that discussed his conversations with American diplomats and meetings in Washington, where he provided perspective on Lebanese politics and Hezbollah. The leak of documents led to a series of threats on his life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo it does get people killed,\u201d Schenker said of intelligence leaks. \u201cAnd some of them are Americans. Or some of them are US grant recipients or people the agency has cultivated to be sources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Slim was killed in February 2021, shot six times while sitting in his car, three times in the head, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/02\/04\/world\/middleeast\/lokman-slim-killed-hezbollah.html\">The New York Times reported<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was my best friend in Lebanon,\u201d Schenker said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/3950805-pentagon-leak-scrutiny-clearances\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The arrest of Jack Teixeira in connection with the leak of classified government documents has quickly raised a series of questions, including how a 21-year-old guardsman at a base in Cape Cod had access to such sensitive information. Authorities arrested Teixeira on Thursday, following a series of reports identifying him as the leader of a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":570229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/pentagon_110421gn2_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,134343,5069,80445,142407,115,134368,134345,4965],"class_list":["post-570228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-campaign","tag-economy","tag-healthcare","tag-leaked-documents","tag-news","tag-pentagon","tag-state-watch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}