Defense Secretary Tightens Classified Information Controls After Ukraine War Documents Leak

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on April 7, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has issued new instructions for how military personnel and contractors are allowed to handle classified information after sensitive military planning documents were recently leaked online.

On Friday, Mr. Austin issued a memo (pdf) providing military components, supporting agencies, and contractors with new instructions for how to handle classified national security information (CNSI). Among the changes Mr. Austin ordered were for the heads of various Department of Defense (DoD) components to ensure all their personnel with access to classified information are properly documented and that various security protocols are being followed.

In one portion of his memo, Mr. Austin ordered heads of DoD components that are not part of the Intelligence Community (IC) must “validate the continuing need for their personnel to have access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and ensure personnel who require such access have a valid SCI non-disclosure agreement on file.” The defense secretary also instructed that DoD component heads make sure to document all Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and Special Access Program Facilities (SAPFs), which are two different facilities used for handling classified information.

The security crackdown was brought on by a number of classified documents that surfaced online this Spring, giving insight into U.S. military strategies and evaluations of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The disclosure of these private documents was ultimately connected by leak investigators to Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old low-level IT specialist with the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

On April 13, Mr. Teixeira was taken into custody and accused of violating the Espionage Act by improperly retaining and transmitting information related to national defense. He is currently being investigated for crimes.

The DoD started a 45-day review of its security programs, policies, and procedures on April 14 following Mr. Teixeira’s arrest. Last week, the 45-day review period came to an end.

“This review found that the overwhelming majority of DoD personnel with access to CNSI are trustworthy and that all DoD Components demonstrate a broad commitment to security,” Mr. Austin wrote. “However, the review identified areas where we can and must improve accountability measures to prevent the compromise of CNSI, to include addressing insider threats.”

Mr. Austin ordered the Defense Security Enterprise Executive Committee and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald S. Moultrie to create a “centralized tracking system” to record locations for storing classified information and to establish greater accountability for individuals with access to those classified settings. This is in addition to documenting which DoD personnel have access to classified information and accounting for all SCIFs and SAPFs. Additionally, Mr. Austin mandated the implementation of “electronic device detection systems and mitigation measures in all DoD SCIFs and SAPFs” in order to further restrict the use of personal or portable electronic devices in classified environments.

The Ukraine War Documents Leak

The documents from the Ukraine war that surfaced online earlier this year included

Online images of the documents bearing “secret” and “top secret” stamps were made available. One document listed the different kinds of military hardware that the US and its allies and partners had sent to Ukraine, along with training schedules for Ukrainian troops to use those weapons systems and potential timelines for a “spring offensive,” which may have been a reference to an offensive that Ukrainian forces are currently engaged in but was only rumored at the time the documents were leaked.

On the Russian and Ukrainian sides of the conflict, another document details equipment losses and casualty assessments. The locations of Ukrainian and Russian forces on the battlefield are described in one document, and the locations of American military units in the rest of Europe are described in another. The rates at which Ukrainian forces have used ammunition for weapons like the HIMARS rocket artillery system were detailed in yet another document that surfaced.

Before they spread to other websites, Mr. Teixeira allegedly posted the documents on the instant messaging service Discord.

The exact number of classified documents that were leaked is unclear.

After he was accused of the leak, the 102nd Intelligence Wing at the Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts underwent a reorganization. The intelligence responsibilities of the unit were transferred to other Air Force units, and a number of the unit commanders were removed from their posts.