“Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people had access to leaked Pentagon documents” | Abroad

The leaked documents contain information about preparations for an upcoming Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russia, in the form of overviews of planned arms deliveries and troop numbers. The papers also contain sensitive information about China and the Middle East, among others.

A lot of questions are still unanswered. Who took the documents and posted them online? And what damage has the released information already done? It is possible, according to officials, that the motive is not purely political, but further investigation will have to determine that.

Javed Ali, a senior former US official who held an intelligence position with the FBI, says hundreds — possibly thousands — of military and other US government officials have the security clearances necessary to access the documents.

Christopher Meagher, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, wants to remain discreet about the ongoing investigation. He does want to say that the defense minister was initially informed about the leak last Thursday. “This is being taken very seriously,” said Meagher. “This is top priority for us.” Meanwhile, US officials have reached out to other leaders and congressional allies to warn them.

The leaked documents are said to be stored in separate computer systems that are highly secured. The computers are located in a highly secured workspace known as SCIFs (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities). No one is allowed to bring in electronic devices that can be used to take photos and record video or audio.

The leaked documents would have been photographed before they were put online. This can help researchers to trace the origin of the images. “Sometimes when sensitive information is leaked, someone makes mistakes when taking the photos and we can retrieve an electronic fingerprint,” says Maegher.

The United States does not know whether the leak of classified military documents is now under control. That’s what National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby said yesterday to a question from reporters at the White House. According to Kirby, President Joe Biden was first briefed last week about the leak of the confidential documents.

Pentagon sources confirm to US media that the documents are genuine, although some have clearly been edited. Kirby said: “We know that some of the documents have been edited,” he said yesterday. But he added: “We are still investigating the authenticity of all documents that have been leaked.”

It is not yet clear whether the leak is under control. “We have no idea. We really don’t know,” Kirby said at a press briefing at the White House yesterday.

The documents appear to have first surfaced in early March, on a messaging forum popular with video game enthusiasts. They also began circulating on social media earlier this month.

The US has launched an investigation into the source of the leak. According to Kirby, it is therefore not known whether more documents are circulating. “We don’t know who is behind this. We don’t know what the motive is. And we don’t know if there’s any more going around. In any case, this information does not belong in the public domain.”