Pentagon Increases Control Over Classified Information

On Wednesday, July 4, the Pentagon announced its intention to tighten controls over classified information. The Pentagon stated that the new measures include 'appointment of ultra-secret control officers,' 'establishment of a new office for domestic threats,' and 'plans for electronic device identification systems in classified, secret, and ultra-secret work areas.' This decision follows an incident involving the leak of documents that led to the arrest of a member of the U.S. Air National Guard in April, who was charged with disseminating classified documents on the Discord messaging platform. Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old from North Dighton, Massachusetts, was charged last month with six counts of knowingly retaining and transmitting classified national defense information. Mr. Teixeira is accused of leaking between fifty to one hundred classified documents, primarily concerning the war in Ukraine and sensitive information about U.S. allies. Teixeira, an IT specialist working at the Otis Air National Guard base in Massachusetts, held a low military rank, raising concerns. The FBI stated that Teixeira initially leaked texts in a Discord chat room and later began posting photos of documents three months ago. After the documents were released outside of the chat room, the U.S. Department of Defense became aware of the leak.