Pentagon strengthened its security by establishing a new office to monitor insider threats after a trove of classified documents was leaked online.
The department will improve access to vetting information from ongoing background checks to ensure individuals still meet security clearance requirements.
“This review found that the overwhelming majority of DoD personnel with access to [classified national security information] are trustworthy and that all DoD Components demonstrate a broad commitment to security,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
Austin continued: “However, the review identified areas where we can and must improve accountability measures to prevent the compromise of C SI [classified national security information], including addressing insider threats.”
The review was launched in the wake of a leak of classified intelligence on a popular social media platform, allegedly by National Guard Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, a senior defense official mentioned that the review showed the department needed to “revalidate things like distribution lists” and ensure that the Pentagon had “modernized our requirements with the way technology can enable kind of print tracking, those types of things so that we have better accountability.”
