US document leak ranks with worst of the 21st century - expert
US national security agencies are reviewing how they share their most sensitive secrets inside the US government, and dealing with the diplomatic fallout from the release of dozens of confidential documents, US officials told Reuters.
Investigators are also working to determine what person or group might have had the ability and motivation to release the intelligence reports, said one of the officials. The leaks could be the most damaging release of US government information since the 2013 publication of thousands of documents on WikiLeaks.
"This is number five in [a] series of major, highly damaging, highly embarrassing intelligence leaks," said Thomas Rid, professor of strategic studies and Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. "So I think, safe to say, this is one of the most damaging intelligence leaks this century so far."
The classified documents that appeared online - with unverified details ranging from Ukraine's air defences to Israel's Mossad spy agency - have US officials scrambling to identify the leak's source. Officials say the breadth of topics addressed in the documents, which touch on the war in Ukraine, China, the Middle East and Africa, suggest they may have been leaked by an American rather than an ally.
"The finished intelligence reports in some cases are highly specific," Rid said, "referring to specific conversations that individuals had or a specific thing that the Russian Ministry of Defense was planning to do in Ukraine or with their assets in the country. So they will try to narrow down how the information got out. And the more specific the reports, the more likely it is they will succeed. And that is what's so damaging."
US officials said the investigation is in its early stages and those running it have not ruled out the possibility that pro-Russian elements were behind the leak, which is seen as one of the most serious security breaches since National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's disclosure of US surveillance programs in 2013.
US officials in touch with allies following document leak - White House
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the leak of classified US military documents last week, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.
During Monday's briefing, Kirby said some of the documents appear to be "directly related to national security concerns and intelligence."
According to Kirby, the US Government knows some documents have been doctored, but he declined to speak to the validity of what was leaked.
US national security agencies are reviewing how they share their most sensitive secrets inside the US government, and dealing with the diplomatic fallout from the release of dozens of confidential documents, three US officials said.
Reuters has reviewed more than 50 of the documents, labelled "Secret" and "Top Secret," that first appeared on social media sites in March and purportedly reveal details of Ukrainian military vulnerabilities and information about allies including Israel, South Korea and Turkey.
Reuters has not independently verified the document's authenticity. US officials have said some documents giving battlefield casualty estimates from Ukraine appeared to have been altered to understate Russian losses.
Reuters
