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Newer News: February 2015

January 2015 Intelligence News

• U.S. military cited for increasing classification of information on Afghan forces by Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, January 29. "The top U.S. general in Afghanistan is increasingly classifying information about the Afghan military and police that had previously been released, an 'unprecedented' decision that keeps it from the American public, according to a new watchdog report."
• Former Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientist Sentenced to Prison for Atomic Energy Act Violations, Justice Department news release, January 28. "Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, a scientist formerly employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), was sentenced this morning for Atomic Energy Act and other violations relating to his communication of classified nuclear weapons data to a person he believed to be a Venezuelan government official."
• Navy Orders Disestablishment of USN Information Operations Command at Menwith Hill, January 27. "This disestablishment action results from the National Security Agency's Defense Department Directive of October 2012 which directed removal of all manpower resources from NAVIOCOM Menwith Hill."
• Torture if you Must, but do not Under Any Circumstances Call the New York Times by Dan Froomkin, The Intercept, January 27. "Monday's guilty verdict in the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling on espionage charges -- for talking to a newspaper reporter -- is the latest milepost on the dark and dismal path Barack Obama has traveled since his inaugural promises to usher in a 'new era of openness'."
• Ex-CIA officer convicted of leaking Iran plan by Tara McKelvey, BBC News, January 26. "A former CIA officer has been convicted of leaking classified details of a US operation against Iran to a reporter. Jeffrey Sterling denied the leak but was found guilty in a Virginia court of all nine counts he faced."
• Attorney General Holder Announces Charges Against Russian Spy Ring in New York City, Justice Department news release, January 26. "Spy Ring Attempted to Collect Economic Intelligence and Recruit New York City Residents as Intelligence Sources."
• Palm Beach County Resident Pleads Guilty Under the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for Accessing and Removing Classified Information from Military Computers, Justice Department news release, January 23. "Christopher R. Glenn, 34, gained unauthorized access to classified computer files containing national defense information that belonged to the Department of Defense and U.S. Southern Command's Joint Task Force Bravo in Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. Once Glenn accessed those files, he copied classified information stored under the Joint Task Force Commander's account, which information he retained."
• GOP Senator Wants to Make Sure the Full CIA Torture Report Never Sees the Light of Day by Jason Leopold, Vice News, January 21. "Last week, Senator Richard Burr asked the White House to return all copies of the document that were disseminated last month to executive branch officials by his predecessor, Dianne Feinstein, according to a copy of a one-page letter Burr sent to President Barack Obama and obtained by VICE News."
• C.I.A. Report Found Value of Brutal Interrogation Was Inflated by Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, January 20. "New details of the Panetta Review, presented last month by the C.I.A. inspector general in a briefing to the committee, came as Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the new chairman of the Intelligence Committee, wrote to President Obama with an odd request: He wants the committee's report back."
• New guidelines for US government leak inquiries leave journalists at risk by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian, January 15. "Raft of new safeguards for journalists will not change Eric Holder and the Obama administration's legacy as enemies of the free press, observers say."
• Talk of Petraeus indictment raises legal questions for his ex-paramour by Michael Doyle, McClatchy News, January 12. "Former CIA Director David Petraeus is not the only one in potential legal jeopardy for the reported discovery of classified information on his former paramour's computer. Unauthorized recipients of classified information, too, can be prosecuted along with alleged leakers."
• Politicians stand by David Petraeus despite FBI leaks inquiry by Spencer Ackerman, The Guardian, January 12. "Former CIA director is suspected of same crime as Edward Snowden yet enjoys the backing of Hillary Clinton, John McCain and other high-profile critics of leaks."
• Terror attack greets intelligence panel chief in first days on the job by Michael Doyle, McClatchy News, January 9. "And this was just the start for Rep. Devin Nunes, a 42-year-old lawmaker in his sixth term in the House of Representatives. Coming from a largely agricultural district in California's San Joaquin Valley, Nunes must now oversee a bureaucratically savvy and technically sophisticated community accustomed to keeping its own counsel."
• Dianne Feinstein's Torture Reform Proposals Don't Address The Real Problem, Advocates Say by Ali Watkins, Huffington Post, January 6. "Amid the public furor that followed the release of the Senate's gruesome investigation of the CIA's torture program, the stage was set for Congress to act. Yet former Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein is taking heat for a set of reform proposals that transparency and human rights advocates say miss the mark."
• Google's 'security princess' helped White House after hack by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Mashable, January 6. "After hackers breached its internal network in late October, the White House got the help of a Google security engineer, Parisa Tabriz, the company's self-proclaimed 'security princess'."