Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in April ordered a 45-day internal security review of Pentagon policies and procedures after a junior Air National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira, was accused of leaking a trove of classified documents online.
Teixeira, 21, allegedly posted hundreds of documents with significant intelligence on adversaries and allies to Discord, a messaging platform popular in gaming communities. In June, Teixeira pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges.
The leak set off a scramble to determine whether the Pentagon had a larger security problem at hand or if Teixeira was simply a one-off.
The subsequent review, released Wednesday, found that while the Defense Department (DOD) “should improve its security posture and accountability measures,” it does not have a widespread issue with keeping its secrets safe.
“The overwhelming majority of DoD personnel with access to classified national security information (CNSI) comply with security policies, processes, and procedures, and recognize the importance of information security in maintaining our national security,” according to a summary of the report’s findings.
The review also led to several recommendations that include updating the Pentagon’s “need to know” procedures, a U.S. defense official told reporters.
That means the DOD will better monitor who has access to and views classified documents and whether those individuals have a valid reason for it.
In addition, investigators recommended the DOD put more resources toward tightening security around handling secret information, including stricter rules to keep electronic devices out of classified work areas to prevent images or recordings being taken.
Teixeira, who served in the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, had a relatively low-ranking position as a technology support staffer. But the role still came with access to the Pentagon’s Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System, a clearinghouse for intelligence information.
Authorities say he first started doling out military secrets on Discord by summarizing intelligence reports before eventually printing and taking photographs of classified intelligence and posting it to the website.
The review found that there was no “single point of failure” in the leak, but it also concluded that an explosion in the number of military facilities and individuals that handle classified information in the past 20 years has outgrown the Pentagon’s ability to keep secrets secret.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
