The recent arrest of 21-year-old Airman Jack Teixeira, a cyber transport systems journeyman in the Air National Guard, for the unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information has raised concerns about the ease with which low-level Defense Department employees can access sensitive information.
While Teixeira's job was considered junior and required only a high-school degree, a driver's license, and up to 18 months of on-the-job training, he held Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information, one of the highest security classifications.
The disclosure of this information highlights the sheer number of people who have access to US secrets, with nearly three million people having permission to access classified documents as of October 2019.
This oversharing has its roots in efforts to expand the sharing of information following September 11, with the idea being that a broader dissemination of intelligence might help prevent another attack on US soil. The US Department of Defense has ordered a review of its intelligence access, accountability, and control procedures to prevent future leaks.
Experts and former officials have called the leak a massive exposure that not only reveals up-to-the-minute assessments of the Ukraine war but also how the US collects intelligence worldwide. The leak has raised concerns about whether the most powerful nation on Earth can keep a secret. While the public response from other nations has been relatively muted, the leak could help Moscow identify the source of its own intelligence breaches. Officials have acknowledged that the leak has exposed the US's longstanding intelligence partnerships and may cause concerns among its partners.
