Wash Post Article Highlights Classified Facilities

[Xiphos]

"The Washington Post plans to publish a website listing all agencies and contractors believed to conduct Top Secret work on behalf of the U.S. Government," the notice reads. "The website provides a graphic representation pinpointing the location of firms conducting Top Secret work, describing the type of work they perform, and identifying many facilities where such work is done."

According to the notice, the Post used only open-source information to compile its site. However, if some of that open-source information turns out to have been classified, its publication by the Post doesn't change that classification, the State Department emphasized.

See the whole article: State Department warns employees about new website highlighting Top Secret facilities | The Cable

I have obtained this document sent by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It appears the Washington Post is about to push the bounds of intelligence reporting. The intelligence agency seems concerned. See letter below. More coming later.

See the whole article: TWT Exclusive: Is Wash Post harming intelligence work? - Washington Times

[213th]

Top Secret (TS)
The highest level of classification of material on a national level. Such material would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security if made publicly available.
Secret

Such material would cause "grave damage" to national security if it were publicly available.


I postulate that if the material is capable of causing grave/exceptionally grave damage to nat sec when compromised, then damage to facilities and personnel who create such materials would also cause the same damage. IMO, Washington Post is way out of line, bordering on treason.

[2 Blue 4 U]

WTF, this is stepping over the line

[Five-0]

The information should not be out there for the WashPost to publish. If it is then those we want to keep the information from already know about it anyway. The fact that the Post has found it says more about our national security than the Post publishing it. If this causes security to be improved then it is worth the publication. If I were running the paper I would tell those that need to know to fix it. If that didn't work I would publish it too.

[Captain America]

The information should not be out there for the WashPost to publish. If it is then those we want to keep the information from already know about it anyway. The fact that the Post has found it says more about our national security than the Post publishing it. If this causes security to be improved then it is worth the publication. If I were running the paper I would tell those that need to know to fix it. If that didn't work I would publish it too.

I agree with Five-O , if the WashPost found the information then the intelligence agencies of most other countries already have the info. No way they should have been able to access the intelligence in the first place considering they don't have a tenth of the resources that the intelligence appartus of most nations have.

[Odd]

Hmm. If I ran some company with a contract and found a big red arrow pointing at my office on some Google Map the Post made up I'd be less than pleased. As a taxpayer the article sounds like it has merit. From a security standpoint the layer they're losing is obscurity, which is usually a lot less useful than perceived.

Thieves steal 3,000 laptops from US Special Ops contractor Those thieves didn't need a map. Luckily those didn't have any military info on them. How many stories have we read over the past few years about contractors (and the government) losing laptops full of info? Doesn't much matter if we know where they work if they're leaving their work at the Starbucks.

Seems Congress failing to pass an intelligence authorization bill prevents intelligence agencies from creating permanent jobs so more and more things must be outsourced. Maybe shining a light on this will get congressional butts motivated. The article is being written by the same reporter who literally shined the light on the cockroaches at Walter Reed, another case where officials cringed and would have preferred it not be printed, but was the outcome worth the pain in that case?

Not saying this one is a good thing, but I'm no more sure it's a bad thing.

[TXCharlie]

Back when I worked for a defense contractor, they warned that two bits of unclassified information can become classified if you put them together in the right way, especially if they're related.

Our company went into lockdown back in the 1980's when an unexploded HARM missile that was shot in Libya was shown on Libyan TV to have our company's nameplate complete with address on the chassis. Now, it was no secret that we made the HARM, and it was no secret that HARM's were shot in Lybia to knock out their radar installations - But that nameplate put the information together during hostilities, in such a way that there was a clear danger that one of the millions of people that we made very angry would seek immediate revenge.

The threat was taken so seriously that our supervisor quietly suggested very strongly that we bring our pistols with us to work, and not walk to and from our cars alone. I don't think the gun part was a company thing, but guards were definitely escorting people to their cars and keeping the parking lot locked down pretty good.

I would say that a lot fewer people were mad at us then than there are now.

[Jks9199]

I'd have to know more. I used to work in that world, and have either current or have held clearances from DOD, DOJ and the intelligence community. Lots of the stuff that might go onto that list isn't a real problem. For example, we know that the shipyards in Norfolk build Navy vessels. The specifics of the manufacturing and design may be classified... and leaking some of that would be a serious concern. The mere fact that they build them there? No big deal. Hell, the NSA and NRO both have their HQ buildings on the map. You can't go inside... or even get all that close, but you can drive by them. Same thing with Langley for the CIA.

There is work and there are activities that even the mere knowledge of their location or who is doing them is a serious national security concern. That's why there are black lines on the budgets, and classified contracts. Or bizarre contracts 'cause some dumbass decided the way to hide the black budget item was behind a contract listing $40 million dollar thimbles or something like that... (No, I don't think that's a real one I just made up.)

So, until I see what they've got and how it's presented... I'm not up in arms. I ain't thrilled... I was briefed in on the periphery of a classified program that accidentally got blown wide open; talk about a zoo and chaos afterwards!

[Xiphos]

I'd have to know more. I used to work in that world, and have either current or have held clearances from DOD, DOJ and the intelligence community. Lots of the stuff that might go onto that list isn't a real problem. For example, we know that the shipyards in Norfolk build Navy vessels. The specifics of the manufacturing and design may be classified... and leaking some of that would be a serious concern. The mere fact that they build them there? No big deal. Hell, the NSA and NRO both have their HQ buildings on the map. You can't go inside... or even get all that close, but you can drive by them. Same thing with Langley for the CIA.

Those facilities are hardened against attack and espionage. The concern I have is for some business, in a commercial area near other businesses or even homes, that doesn't have the resources to deal with high security or counter espionage.

[TXCharlie]

Those facilities are hardened against attack and espionage. The concern I have is for some business, in a commercial area near other businesses or even homes, that doesn't have the resources to deal with high security or counter espionage.

+1

Not all defense contractors even have fenced-in facilities, especially the little sub-contractors whose main line of business might be commercial products like car parts or something.

[Bob Loblaw]

The information should not be out there for the WashPost to publish. If it is then those we want to keep the information from already know about it anyway. The fact that the Post has found it says more about our national security than the Post publishing it. If this causes security to be improved then it is worth the publication. If I were running the paper I would tell those that need to know to fix it. If that didn't work I would publish it too.

1+. Like it or not (and I don't like it), this is one of the primary functions served by the Fourth Estate.

[Jks9199]

For the facilities that actually deal with classified material -- there are strict requirements for how they're built and protected. Believe me, in the Northern Virginia/DC area, there are more places that store and keep classified material or do classified work than you can shake a stick at... And, no, I'm not leaking anything when I say that! It's just common sense & kind of obvious.

[Xiphos]

Here it is: Top Secret America | washingtonpost.com

[Jks9199]

I've been reading it. It doesn't really tell you much that you don't already know if you've been anywhere close to that sort of stuff... And blows some of the places a bit out of proportion.

But it makes some really good points, too... 20 years ago, the intel world was big and had a lot of redundancy. Today... it's even worse. According to the articles... the people who were supposed to be watching for radicalization within the troops decided on their own to watch outside instead... 'cause at least 4 other units/entities watching for outside threats weren't enough...