Pentagon will increase safety screenings following leak of categorised paperwork

The Pentagon has elevated its safety screenings following a large leak of categorised paperwork allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air Nationwide Guard that uncovered delicate data on-line, based on a Protection Division spokeswoman.

The Pentagon Pressure Safety Company (PFPA) conducts routine screenings of workers coming in or out of the Pentagon for categorised data, however the quantity and frequency of those screenings have elevated after Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a assessment of procedures across the dealing with of delicate and categorised materials final month.

“The Pentagon Pressure Safety Company routinely screens workers coming into and exiting the Pentagon for prohibited objects and to make sure categorised data is protected and dealt with in accordance with present safety necessities,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough mentioned in a press release. “PFPA has elevated these safety screenings and measures in response to the rapid assessment of data safety procedures directed by Secretary of Protection Austin on April 17, 2023.”

In that memo final month, Austin wrote, “It’s subsequently important to rigorously look at the sufficiency of, and compliance with, all safety insurance policies and procedures.”

NBC Information first reported on the elevated screenings.

Austin additionally directed the underneath secretary of protection for intelligence and safety to work with the division’s chief data officer and director of administration and administration to conduct a 45-day assessment of Protection Division safety applications, insurance policies and procedures. That assessment ought to be concluded within the coming days.

The assessment got here after a large leak of categorised paperwork. Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air Nationwide Guard who had entry to extremely delicate data, has been accused of posting the trove of paperwork.

Teixeira, a junior enlisted Guardsman, was arrested in April after he allegedly posted the categorised data on Discord, a social media platform in style with avid gamers. He was charged underneath the Espionage Act with unauthorized elimination of categorised data and protection supplies, and unauthorized transmission of nationwide protection data.

A choose determined this month that he would stay behind bars till his trial. He has not but entered a proper plea.

Teixeira was serving as a cyber techniques journeyman with the Massachusetts Air Nationwide Guard on the time of the alleged leak. Paperwork launched this month confirmed that Teixeira’s enlisted leaders in his unit have been conscious of three separate events when he was found viewing categorised intelligence unrelated to his job. It’s unclear what actions, if any, have been taken towards him.