Military Leaks: What happened this week, what it means, and why I’m pissed

What’s done in the shadows inevitably comes to light. 

That’s an important maxim for life…

And it applies to the military too. Especially in the era of persistent surveillance that we talked about last week.

But, it also applies to leaks of sensitive information.

It really grinds my gears that the military and government tend to overclassify information. 

But, what grinds my gears even more is the leakage of classified information that is harmful to our national security, international order, and to the lives of our service members, intelligence operatives, and others. And the knowledge that whoever leaked that information was trusted to safeguard it.

This week, it came to light that someone has likely leaked a trove of classified U.S. documents related to the war in Ukraine.

It’s unfortunately but this incident highlights the critical need for safeguarding sensitive military data and the potential ramifications of such leaks.

I won’t share the documents here. It’s not appropriate to do so and it endangers our service-members, our allies, and our partners. 

The leaked military documents contain highly classified information (including documents marked Top Secret) and include operational assessments, casualty estimates, timelines of delivery of foreign military aid to Ukraine, and assessments of other nations. 

This type of data is vital to the functioning of Ukraine’s military and government, and its unauthorized disclosure poses grave risks to Ukraine’s military and the United States’s national interests. 

The consequences of such leaks can include compromised military strategies, compromised operational security, and damage to diplomatic relations with other nations. Additionally, leaks of sensitive military data can endanger the lives of military personnel and jeopardize ongoing operations, putting at risk the safety and security of our armed forces.

The leak of top secret military documents also has broader implications for international security. It can strain diplomatic relations between countries, create distrust among allies, and potentially provide adversaries with critical intelligence that can be used against us. The unauthorized release of classified military information can disrupt joint military operations, compromise intelligence sharing agreements, and undermine trust and cooperation among nations. This, in turn, can have long-term consequences for national security and geopolitical stability.

Given the gravity of the situation, it is imperative that robust measures are in place to safeguard military data. 

Opportunities related to safeguarding data for the military are significant. There is a growing demand for skilled companies in the field of cybersecurity and data protection that can play a crucial role in developing cutting-edge technologies and solutions to protect military data.

As we see the reversal of the several decades long decay in the relationship between industry and the government, I hope that companies will step forward to work with the government to safeguard both classified and unclassified information. 

I also hope that individuals will consider the consequences of their actions more fully, and choose to not endanger our nation, our friends and allies, and our way of life through negligence or willfully disclosing information, with which they were trusted.

If you’re building something that supports our defense, and the ability to protect our most important information—the stuff that when leaked gets people hurt or killed, I want to hear from you! And of course,

Keep building!

Andrew