Obama Administration accidently leaked US nuclear 'treasure map for terrorists'

[vector7]

US nuclear 'treasure map for terrorists' posted in error on government website

Obama administration admits mistake, but denies release of information threatens national security

• Suzanne Goldenberg, Washington
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 3 June 2009 14.34 BST
• Article history

An exhaustive list of America's nuclear sites – including maps showing the location of fuel for nuclear weapons – has been accidentally posted on a government website, but the Obama administration denied that the leak had jeopardised national security.

The 266-page document, marked "highly confidential", was removed from the website of the Government Printing Officelast night following media inquiries.

Barack Obama had ordered the report for the International Atomic Energy Agency in the hopes of prodding other countries, such as Iran, to submit similar classified information nuclear activities to the agency.

In his accompanying letter to Congress, Obama described the information as "sensitive but unclassified". Nearly every page is stamped "highly confidential safeguards sensitive".

"The enclosed draft declaration lists each site, location, facility, and activity I intend to declare to the IAEA," he wrote.

It was not immediately clear how the report, with details of hundreds of US nuclear facilities, including reactor sites and confidential sites at weapons labs, ended up on the website of the Government Printing Office.

Its publication was first noted on Monday by Steve Aftergood, who publishes a blog on government secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists.

The report contains information on America's nuclear weapons labs at Los Alamos in New Mexico, Livermore and Sandia as well as scores of other nuclear sites.

In its potentially most serious breach, the report provides a map showing the exact location of a storage site for highly enriched weapons grade uranium at the heavily guarded Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

The Obama administration admitted the information should never have been released. But Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a statement that the disclosure posed no risk to security.

"The departments of energy, defence and commerce and the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] all thoroughly reviewed it to ensure that no information of direct national security significance would be compromised."

Even so, some security analysts today raised concerns that thieves or terrorists could make use of the maps that show where the nuclear fuels are stored.

Kit Bond, the leading Republican on the Senate's intelligence committee, told reporters it was a "virtual treasure map for terrorists."

However, military and civilian experts concluded that the document – while offering an extensive account of the US nuclear complex – did not pose a serious danger as much of the information was already in the public realm.

"These screw-ups happen," John Deutch, a former director of central intelligence and deputy secretary of defence told the New York Times. "It's going further than I would have gone but doesn't look like a serious breach."

[American Patriot]

I heard about this pretty early this morning.

I was ducking the stuff that was hitting the impeller device. haha

Wonder why someone would post that stuff, on purpose anyway? And then take it down?

No conspiracy theory here, huh?

[vector7]

Gov't posts sensitive list of US nuclear sites


1 hr 6 mins ago

By EILEEN SULLIVAN and H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer Eileen Sullivan And H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press Writer – 30 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The government accidentally posted on the Internet a list of government and civilian nuclear facilities and their activities in the United States, but a U.S. official said Wednesday the posting included no information that compromised national security.

The 266-page document was published on May 6 as a transmission from President Barack Obama to Congress. According to the document, the list was required by law and will be provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Some of the pages are marked "highly confidential safeguards sensitive."
Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the document had been reviewed by a number of U.S. agencies and that disclosure of the information did not jeopardize national security. He said the document is part of an agreement on nuclear material inspection under the IAEA's nuclear nonproliferation effort.

"While we would have preferred it not be released, the Departments of Energy, Defense, and Commerce and the NRC all thoroughly reviewed it to ensure that no information of direct national security significance would be compromised," LaVera said in a statement.

An Energy Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly, said none of the sites on the list are directly part of the government's nuclear weapons infrastructure.

Included in the report, however, are details on a storage facility for highly enriched uranium at the Y-12 complex at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and some sites at the Energy Department's Hanford nuclear site in Washington state, this official acknowledged.

The publication of the list was first reported in an online secrecy newsletter Monday. The document had been posted on the Government Printing Office Web site, but has since been removed from that site.

In a statement, the Government Printing Office said Wednesday: "Upon being informed about potential sensitive nature of the attachment in this document, the Public Printer of the United States removed it from GPO's Web site pending further review. After consulting with the White House and Congress, it was determined that the document, including sensitive attachment, should be permanently removed from the Web site."

The GPO said it processes and produces approximately 160 House documents during the two-year congressional cycle, and the list was received by the agency in the normal process and produced under routine operating procedures.

The document includes both government and civilian nuclear facilities, all of which have various levels of security, including details and location of nation's 103 commercial nuclear power reactors, information readily available from various sources.

The document details the location of the nuclear sites and what is being done there.

For instance, there are nuclear reactors at the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh, Pa. This facility is currently working on research into what happens when there are accidents with the nuclear reactors. The project started in 2006 and is expected to end in 2012, according to the document.

There are "zero" national security implications to the publication of this document, said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy. Aftergood found the document on the GPO Web site and highlighted it in his online bulletin.

"I regret that some people are painting it as a roadmap for terrorists because that's not what it is," Aftergood said.

"This is not a disclosure of sensitive nuclear technologies or of facility security procedures. It is simply a listing of the numerous nuclear research sites and the programs that are under way," Aftergood said. "And so it poses no security threat whatsoever."

[vector7]

I heard about this pretty early this morning.

I was ducking the stuff that was hitting the impeller device. haha

Wonder why someone would post that stuff, on purpose anyway? And then take it down?

No conspiracy theory here, huh?

Nope, Hussein's just trying to be as transparent as possible with his Muslim fanatics on the speaking tour.

[Beetle]

My guess would be that Hussein looks at National Security issues as a commodity that he can profit from.

[American Patriot]

My guess would be that Hussein looks at National Security issues as a commodity that he can profit from.

bill Clinton saw them that way.

[American Patriot]

Pelosi Wants Probe Of Accidental Disclosure Of Nuclear Data
All Headline News ^ | June 4, 2009 | Kris Alingod Washington, D.C. (AHN) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is calling for an investigation into the inadvertent posting of sensitive but unclassified information about civilian nuclear sites across the nation on a government website.


A 267-document describing the nuclear sites with maps and other details was posted on the Government Printing Office website. The report is a draft declaration to the International Atomic Energy Agency in compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty President Barack Obam had sent the draft to Congress last month for review.


The posting was first reported this week by Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists in his newsletter, Secrecy News. The document has been taken down from the GPO website, but is still available at Aftergood's blog.

"The IAEA classification of the enclosed declaration is 'Highly Confidential Safeguards Sensitive' however, the United States regards this information as 'Sensitive but Unclassified,." the President said in his May 5 transmittal letter to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.


Pelosi issued a statement on Wednesday saying, "The disclosure of information related to nuclear facilities suggests that the current system does not provide adequate review and safeguards. Accordingly, I have asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate immediately what led to the disclosure of this information and to make recommendations to prevent a similar disclosure in the future."

[American Patriot]

In From the Cold

http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2009...-accident.html

Musings on Life, Love, Politics, Military Affairs, the Media, the Intelligence Community and Just About Anything Else that Captures Our Interest
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
No Accident

If you believe the so-called "experts," the recent, on-line publication of a detailed report on U.S. nuclear facilities was nothing more than an "accident."

The 266-page summary, which provided detailed information on civilian nuclear sites and programs, was posted at a Government Printing Office website until Tuesday night, when it was suddenly removed. That action followed disclosure of the document's existence--and its accessibility--at a web site devoted to government secrecy.

According to The New York Times, the report was marked "Highly Confidential" and listed hundreds of civilian reactors and research facilities linked to government nuclear programs. In some cases, the document provided maps that showed the precise location of fuel stockpiles used for nuclear weapons.

While analysts debate the damage caused by the disclosure, the Times managed to find an expert who dismissed the report's publication as little more than a clerical error:

“These screw-ups happen,” said John M. Deutch, a former director of central intelligence and deputy secretary of defense who is now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It’s going further than I would have gone but doesn’t look like a serious breach.”

Of course, there is no small irony in Mr. Deutch's comments. As you'll recall, he was dismissed as CIA Director during the Clinton Administration for a colossal security blunder. Investigators discovered the Mr. Deutch not only took home highly classified intelligence files, he uploaded them on a personal computer that was linked to the internet. The CIA has never disclosed if foreign intelligence agencies were able to access Mr. Deutch's computer, and download secret files stored on his personal computers--machines that were never cleared for classified use.

Apologist for Mr. Deutch tried to depict him as a computer neophyte--a latecomer to the world of laptops--but that defense only goes so far. A CIA investigation into Deutch's computer files revealed that the CIA Director first tried to retain his machines, which had been purchased by the agency. When that request was rejected, Mr. Deutch apparently tried to reformat his computer, in an attempt to erase the classified files. He even sought help from technical experts at CIA HQ in an effort to reformat computer memory cards, a request that first raised questions about the director and his security habits.

In other words, Mr. Deutch willfully broke the rules, although he was never prosecuted and received a pardon from President Clinton. The "willful intent," so apparent in the Deutch case, is also evident in the "accidental" publication of that nuclear report. In other words, someone made a conscious decision to put the document on that unclassified government web site.

How can we be so sure? Government policy mandates the creation, editing and publication of classified reports on systems cleared for that type of information. Typically, a "confidential" report would be produced on a SECRET-level system, and published on an intranet cleared for that level of data. In the Department of Defense, the intranet for SECRET information is called SIPRNET. Other government agencies also have access to SIPRNET, or utilize their own SECRET-level intranets.

Getting that report on that unclassified web site, took several deliberate steps (or mistakes, depending on your perspective). First, the document had to be downloaded from a classified system and then copied or uploaded onto the unclassified site. Quite a series of missteps, wouldn't you say?

However, tracking down the guilty party should be relatively easy--assuming that the Obama Administration is interested in sealing the security breach. Government computer systems (at all levels) are extensively monitored, and employees must log on/log off using a personalized access card. Consequently, it shouldn't be too hard to find out who download the report, then uploaded it on the unclassified system.

One final note: many of the government's classified systems won't accept "outside" media, meaning you can't stick an unclassified flash card, floppy disk, CD-ROM or DVD into the appropriate drive and download information. Obviously, the feds haven't released details on the system(s) involved in this compromise, so we can't be completely sure how the information was transferred.

But one thing is clear: given the steps required, the posting of that report on an unclassified government web site was anything but an accident or a simple "screw-up."

[vector7]

U.S. agencies responsible for nuclear data leak : GAO

WASHINGTON
Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:42pm EST

Related News

• Errors and inaccuracies in stimulus report: GAOThu, Nov 19 2009
• UPDATE 4-US GAO-Hard to see consumer savings from card feesThu, Nov 19 2009
• CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-US Democrats seek study of drug prices hikesWed, Nov 18 2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several federal agencies share responsibility for the inadvertent publishing by a government office of sensitive U.S. nuclear power information on the Web last May, Congressional investigators said on Wednesday.
U.S.
The Government Printing Office published the 266-page document, which gave details on nuclear power sites, locations, facilities and activities, on the Web on May 7.

It included 14 diagrams of buildings or facilities at U.S. nuclear sites, two of which were marked "Official Use Only" and described activities at national laboratories.

None of the agencies that had prepared the draft document for the International Atomic Energy Association -- the Departments of Energy and Commerce and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- had made sure it was marked with U.S. security designations, the Government Accountability Office said in a report about its investigation.

The data was marked only with IAEA designations, which helped lead to the printing office's publication of the information, the GAO report said.

In addition, the National Security Council, which reviewed the document for the White House, "did not provide explicit and clear instructions on how to handle the draft declaration to the White House's Clerk's Office," the GAO said.

Publishing of the data did not appear to have harmed national security because most of the information was available on agency Web sites and other public documents, the GAO said, citing officials at the agencies.

But the compilation of the data made the report sensitive and it was never meant to be made public, it said.

The GAO's report of the investigation, which had been requested by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, concluded that the Departments of Energy, Commerce and State and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should form an agreement concerning the handling of sensitive nuclear power information.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by David Gregorio)