U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced that 21-year-old Jack Teixeira of the Massachusetts Air National Guard has been arrested. was arrested by federal agents and charged with “allegedly deleting, storing, and transmitting classified defense information.”
While there is currently no indication that Teixeira is accused of leaking classified documents at the behest of or under the control of a foreign power, investigations into major US espionage cases do not exist. involving suspects with different motives discovered serious deficiencies in the government’s ability to protect itself against intrusions.
In the case of the convicted CIA agent Aldrich Ames, congressional investigator criticized the agency for Ames’ ability to address suitability issues, including “drunkness, disregard for security regulations, and negligence in administrative inquiries.”
Afterward by Robert Hanssen betrayal has been exposed, learned investigator he has full access to the FBI and State Department computer systems and will spend hours scouring for classified information undetected. In his 25 years with the bureau, with his access to extremely sensitive sources and methods of US intelligence efforts targeting the Soviet Union and Russia, Hanssen has never been screened with a say detector. lie.
After the Ames and Hanssen affair, the CIA and FBI moved to strengthen their so-called insider threat programs to protect state secrets by scrutinizing the finances and travel of employees with access to information. confidential information and increased use of polygraphs for regular assessment. employees to remain loyal and relevant.
While intelligence agencies like the FBI and CIA have stepped up their precautions, the Department of Defense, which employs the majority of the staff of the US intelligence community, remains extremely vulnerable and almost certain to fail. will certainly be tasked by supervisory investigators following the latest revelations.
While much is still not publicly known about the extent of Teixeira’s clearance and his US government background investigation, a major issue for the Department of Defense concerns how often and strongly strong that counterintelligence officials closely monitor employees who have access to information on an ongoing basis.
