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According to an online post seen by The New York Times, the Air National Guard accused of leaking classified documents to a small group of gamers released classified information to a much larger audience months earlier than was previously known. I was posting in a chat group.
In February 2022, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, a user profile matching Airman Jack Teixeira began posting confidential information about the Russian war effort in a private chat group on Discord, a popular social media platform for gamers. . The chat group contained approximately 600 members.
The lawsuit against Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman who was arrested on April 13, is related to the leak of classified documents from another Discord group of about 50 members called Thug Shaker Central. So he began posting classified information on him in October 2022, members of the group told The Times. His job as an information technology specialist at an Air Force base in Massachusetts gave him top-secret clearance.
It is not clear if authorities are aware of the sensitive information posted to this additional Discord chat group.
Newly discovered information posted to a larger chat group included updates on Russian and Ukrainian casualties, Moscow spy agency activity, and aid being provided to Ukraine. , claimed to be posting information from the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies.
This additional information raises questions about why officials didn’t discover the leak sooner, especially when hundreds of people could have seen the post.
Scrutinizing people for security clearances and how the Pentagon and intelligence agencies protect sensitive data as some of America’s most closely guarded secrets are exposed. and enforcing the mantra that access to secrets should only be given to people has its weaknesses in both. “I need to know,” he said.
The Times learned about a large chat room from a Discord user. Unlike Thug Shaker Central, the second chat room was published on our YouTube channel and was easily accessible within seconds.
A body of digital evidence collected by The Times links posts containing classified information to Airman Teixeira. The post was made under a username that The Times had previously connected to Airman Teixeira. The leaker said he worked for the U.S. Air Force’s Intelligence Corps, and details of the video and photos he posted were posted by his family inside his Teixeira home in North Massachusetts. matched the image. A fellow Discord member sent a user’s birthday wishes on his December 21st. This is the same day Airman his Teixeira sister celebrated his birthday on his Facebook. And he posted a photo of an antique German rifle, and The Times found an online receipt in the name of Air Force Officer Teixeira.
The Times-reviewed posts appear to be detailed descriptions of the classified documents themselves, identifying which intelligence agency they came from. It looks like a user posted photos of some documents, but they were removed from the chat group.
Joshua Hanye, one of the Teixeira Air Corps attorneys at the Boston Public Defender’s Office, declined to comment on the latest revelations. Officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department also declined to comment.
The first leak appears to have come less than 48 hours after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I saw a Pentagon report that his 1/3rd of the army was being used for the invasion,” wrote the user. Seemingly hoping to impress others in the group who questioned his analysis, he said: Perks of belonging to the USAF Intelligence Corps” refers to the United States Air Force.
Some of the information posted seemed to foreshadow the unfolding battlefield. On March 27, 2022, he shared classified information about the Russian withdrawal from Kiev that he said he “found on the NSA site.”
“Some ‘big’ news,” he wrote. “Like all troops, the withdrawal of troops in western Kiev may be planned.” Two days later, Russian officials announced they would be withdrawing from the Ukrainian capital.
Some posts started with casualty count updates. He also reported on Ukrainian target priorities and the activities of Russian intelligence services. was
At times he appeared to be posting from the military base where he was stationed. You said you were trying to enter an area with network access.
How Airman Teixeira obtained the documents he is accused of posting online has become a key question for investigators. They believe he accessed the document using administrative privileges related to his information technology job. Airman Teixeira said in his post that his work gave him access to material that others could not see. “My job gives me greater privileges than most intelligence officers,” he wrote.
Airman Teixeira also claimed that he was actively searching classified computer networks for material on the Ukrainian war. When one of his Discord users urged him not to abuse access to sensitive information, Teixeira replied, “Too late.”
At one point he offered to share information privately with members of the group living outside the United States. wrote.
On another occasion, he wrote that he was able to visit a site run by the National Security Agency, a U.S. spy agency focused on communications intercepted from computer networks, to look for updates on the war. I’m here.
He also claimed to have access to information from US partners. “When I look abroad, I usually work with people from GCHQ,” he told a chat group in September 2022, referring to the Government Communications Headquarters, the UK’s intelligence, security and cyber affairs agency. mentioned.
A spokesman for the National Security Agency declined to comment, referring questions to the Justice Department. A spokeswoman for the British Embassy also declined to comment.
Airman Teixeira continued to share more detailed information to a larger chat group until a month ago.
“I was so happy, happy and enthusiastic to cover this event last year and share with you what not many people get to see,” he wrote on March 19, before stating: added to with an update. ”
Glen Slash, Ishaan Javeri and Riley Mellen contributed to the report.
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